Vampire Academy: Dimitri's Tale
by RosemarieH
Summary: This is Vampire Academy in Dimitri's pov. Every chapter.
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Vampire Academy or any characters!!!**_

**please, please, please R&R!! thanks =)**

**This is Vampire Academy completely in Dimitri's pov. I'll try to post a chapter every day orr every other day. It will be the whole book. I hope you enjoy it. I'm open to everything. If you have suggestions, let me know!**

Rose

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**Chapter 1**

It was at almost three in the morning that we saw activity in the house.

I stood out in the unseasonably warm Portland night and watched through a window of a house.

The two runaway girls from St. Vladimir's Academy were suppose to be asleep. Until one of them woke up crying out. That was Princess Vasilisa Dragomir. The other girl, Rosemarie Hathaway, shot out of bed and ran to Vasilisa. She leaned over the bed and shook her awake. When Vasilisa was awake, Rosemarie turned on a lamp. I knew they didn't really need it. Not with their enhanced vision.

Rosemarie was short, had dark hair and eyes, and was a dhampir. Vasilisa was the opposite. She was average size for a Moroi vampire, blonde and had pale green eyes.

I radioed the other eleven guardians to give them an update; I continued to watch the house.

After two year, we finally found them.

My mind went back to when they first disappeared. No one could believe it. They all thought Rosemarie kidnapped Vasilisa. Watching them, I wasn't to sure. Vasilisa had a lot of chances to sneak away from Rosemarie. No. She left willingly. Everyone was convinced they left so Rosemarie could avoid punishment. That didn't seem likely, either.

I remembered talking to the other novices trying to gather information about two weeks after they disappeared. I'd been reassigned to Vasilisa after my former charge was...killed.

The other novices all thought it was amazing that they were able to escape. No one seemed to know a reason. They all thought Rosemarie was the prettiest thing, and Vasilisa was the most popular person ever. Appearently, they made quite a team. Rosemarie was known for her wild, uncontrollable nature. Vasilisa for her nice, thoughtful ways.

Presently, they were talking about something. Suddenly, Rosemarie shifted into a better position and exposed her neck to the Princess. For a second, I was confused. Rosemarie was letting Vasilisa drink from her?

I was shocked. Then I understood: Rosemarie and the Princess were closer than the best of friends. Rosemarie was willing to be a blood donor to keep her friend healthy. This made it clear in my mind that Rosemarie had _not_ kidnapped Vasilisa.

When it was over, Rosemarie slumped onto the bed. Vasilisa left the room with a worried glance at the other girl.

A black cat that was up on the window and looked out at the night. It puffed up it's hair when it sensed me. Rosemarie looked up and came to the window. The cat didn't like that, but scooted over to let her peer outside..

She scanned the area as a light breeze ruffled her hair.

Her eyes scanned the surrounding collage campus and the yard of their house. I new she couple see shadows of bushes and trees. Then they came to rest on me and she jerked back in surprise. Another guardian came up to me and we stepped back into the shadows. I immediately called to the other guardians and told them to be prepared. No doubt they would try to leave, now.

I turned my attention to the guardian.

"Belikov," he said. "The Princess and the Hathaway girl are getting ready to leave. They're taking a car a couple blocks away."

I nodded. "Here's what we'll do. Six follow behind, two on the side where Vasilisa might be walking, and three on the side next to Rosemarie. I'll be waiting by the car. Rosemarie is the one we have to watch. She'll fight, Vasilisa won't."

He nodded and left to disperse directions.

Less than five minutes later, Vasilisa and Rosemarie came out of the house. Rosemarie was leaning on Vasilisa. Probably still dizzy from the bite.

Vasilisa looked worried, but calmed down when Rosemarie talked to her. There was so much trust between them.

With two more blocks to go, Vasilisa heard the footsteps behind them. She and Rosemarie broke into a run. The guardians behind them were catching up. Ten feet from the car, I stepped out in front of them.

They came to an abrupt halt and Rosemarie pulled Vasilisa behind her, trying to keep her away from me. The footsteps behind them slowed; the other guardians caught up. I saw Rosemarie flick a glance in their direction. Yes, it was unusual to have twelve guardians together. Even the queen didn't travel with that many.

Her gaze jerked to me and I saw her eyes look me up and down. Almost like she was...checking me out. Looking at her, I saw that the novices were right: she was very pretty. Then she snapped into a protective mode.

"Leave her alone," Rosemarie growled at me. "Don't touch her."

I held out my hand trying to calm her down. "I'm not going to--" I took a step forward and Rosemarie leapt out at me.

She was using a offensive maneuver. Unlike her, I had finished my training, and I was faster. Quickly, I blocked her, but i was harder than I intended, and she fell backward, heading for the pavement in a way that looked like it would hurt. Just as fast as I had blocked her, I caught and steadied her.

What caught my attention about her was the fact that her neck was bleeding. Badly. She noticed my stare and lifted her hand to her neck. She pulled it away and saw the blood; quickly she shook her hair over the mark. I continued to look at her now covered wound. Then my eyes met hers. She glared at me and jerked out of my grip. i let her go, thought if I wanted, I could have held on.

Rosemarie backed toward Vasilisa looking like she was preparing herself for another fight.

Vasilisa grabbed her hand. "Rose," she said quietly. "Don't." I guess Rose was what she liked being called.

At first, nothing happened. Then, Rose sagged in defeat.

Confident that she wouldn't try anything else, I stepped forward again. I turned my attention to Vasilisa and bowed. "My name is Dimitri Belikov." You could hear my faint Russian Accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."

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	2. Chapter 2

**This is chapter two. there was a lot of dialog so i could only add a couple things.**

**As usual, i don't own anything, please read and review, blah, blah, blah. im sure u guys get tire of hearing it.**

**u guys got it, so get to it! :) srry it's so long!**

**Rose**

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We took the princess and Rose to the airport and we got onto one of the Academy's private jets.

Before we took off, I looked at Rose and Vasilisa. They were whispering and I ordered them apart.

"Don't let them talk to each other," I warned the guardian who escorted Rose to the back of the plane. "Five minutes together and they'll come up with an escape plan."

Rose shot me a haughty look—which confirmed my statement—and stormed down the aisle.

We were soon in the air and I smiled to myself. Sure, there were parachutes on the jet, but unless they wanted to brave the Rocky Mountains, they were stuck on board. They weren't getting off until we landed in Montana.

I sat down next to Vasilisa. Leaning forward to pick up some reports, my hair fell forward, revealing my neck. I knew Vasilisa could see the six little _molnija_ marks—tattoos given to guardians when they kill Strigoi.

She clutched a water bottle, and I could tell she was afraid. Very much so. I hoped not of me. I was here to protect her, not scare her.

I leaned back and gave Vasilisa a small smile. I flipped through the reports to the file on Rose; I was curious about her.

She was a smart mouth, uncontrollable, and wild. But she also use to be head of her class.

She was constantly in trouble with various problems: sneaking out, drinking, disrespect. I got the feeling Headmistress Kirova didn't like her.

But after watching her with Vasilisa, I was convinced tht she wasn't the irresponsible person her file made her out to be.

It was improbable, yet entirely possible, that she and the princess had a bond. The way they cared about each other, and the fact that Rose was willing to get hurt to protect her…

Toward the end of the flight, I walked back to where Rose sat and traded places with the guardian there. I sat down next to her and she turned away and looked out the window.

After several moments of silence, I asked, "Were you really going to attack all of us?"

She didn't answer.i wanted to ask er what she was thinking.

"Doing that…protecting her like that—it was very brave." I paused. "_Stupid_, but still brave. Why did you even try it?" I wanted an answer badly. Maybe she would give me one.

She finally looked at me with her brown eyes. She brushed her long hair out of her eyes and said, "Because I'm her guardian." She turned away again.

When she turned away, I caught the scent of her shampoo. Very nice. I mentally scolded myself. I shouldn't think that way about an underaged girl.

I waited for more of an explanation, but after a moment, I stood and walked to the front of the plane again.

_Because I'm her guardian._ Her answer rang in my head. She was obviously older than she seemed.

When we landed at the airport, we loaded Rose and Vasilisa into a car. The driver pulled to the gate, spoke to the guards, and let us pass thought to the Academy. It was near sunset—the start of a vampire day—and the campus was covered with shadows.

The Academy was sprawling and gothic. The Moroi were big on tradition; nothing ever changed. This school had been built in the same way as the ones in Europe, but it wasn't nearly as old. The buildings boasted elaborate architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings.

We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open quadrangle decorated with stone paths and enormous, century-old trees. We were going toward the upper school's quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while the dhampir dorms and the gym sat opposite. Moroi dorms sat on the other side, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school.

As we were in Montana, all around the campus was space. The air was cool and smelled like pine and wet, decaying leaves.

As we walked into the main part of the upper schools, Rose broke from her guardian and ran up to me.

"Hey, Comrade."

Where did she get that from? I kept walking and didn't look at her. If she wanted to ignore me, I would (and should) ignore her. Mostly. "You want to talk now?"

"Are you taking us to Kirova?" she asked.

"_Headmistress_ Kirova," I corrected.

"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit—"

She cut herself off as we lead her and Vasilisa through a set of doors—straight into the commons. I suppressed a smile when she sighed. She probably thought this was cruel, but we didn't spend two years searching for them just to let it go without a show.

There were at least a dozen different ways to get to Headmistress Kirova's office, but we lead them straight through the center of the commons.

And it was breakfast time.

It was abuzz with teenage chatter until we walked in. Then, everyone turned and stare. No one said a word.

We went through another set of doors into Headmistress Kirova's office. Prince Victor Dashkov was there.

Most of the guardians left us. Only Alberta, the captain of the school's guardians, and I stayed.. We took up positions along the wall; our faces blank of emotion.

Ms. Kirova focused her eyes on Rose and Vasilisa and opened her mouth to start her lecture. Only she was stopped.

"Vasilisa," Prince Dashkov said.

Vasilisa sprang up and ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"Uncle," she whispered. She sounded like she would cry.

He smiled and patter her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." He looked at Rose. "And you too, Rose."

Rose nodded at him and tried to look impassive, but you could tell she was shocked at his state of health.

Headmistress Kirova let them have a few more moments, then drew Vasilisa back to her seat.

She started the lecture, and I found myself watching Rose. She ignored the headmistress and looked like she was in a different world. She tuned back in only when the headmistress turned to lecture her.

"You Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. the Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; _you_ nearly enabled them to do it."

"Rose didn't kidnap me," Vasilisa said, speaking before Rose could comment. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her."

Ms. Kirova _tsk_ed.

"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one to orchestrate the entire plan for all I know, but it was still _her_ responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."

Rose snapped. "I _did_ do my duty!" she shouted, jumping up. Alberta and I flinched, but neither of us moved forward to restrain her. If she turned violent…well, that was a different story. "I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of _you_—" she waved her hand around the room—"could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to."

Headmistress Kirova stared at Rose. "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically protected environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?"

Rose bit her lip. Yes, there was something she wasn't telling. Perhaps the reason they left.

"I see. Well, then. By my estimations, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it, no doubt—was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."

"No, that's not—"

"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."

Rose's attitude dried up. "I…what?"

Vasilisa stood up next to her. "You can't do that! She's my guardian."

"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all, she's still a novice." Ah, so the headmistress acknowledged she was still enrolled here.

"But my parents—"

"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave."

Rose looked at Headmistress Kirova. "Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my _father_?"

Headmistress Kirova's eyes narrowed at Rose's tone.

She continued in a cold voice. "Or maybe you're going to try and send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."

"Miss Hathaway," Headmistress Kirova hissed. "You are out of line."

I decided to intervene before Rose could screw up her chance of staying. For some reason, I wanted Rose to be able to stay.

"They have a bond," I said. Everyone turned to look at me. I kept my eyes on Rose. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?" Rose didn't answer.

Headmistress Kirova was caught off guard. "No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."

"It's obvious," I said. " I suspected it as soon as I started watching them." Well, technically, I'd been watching Rose.

Neither Vasilisa nor Rose responded. Rose looked away from me.

"That is a gift," murmured Victor. "A rare and wonderful thing."

"The best guardians always have that. In the stories," I added.

Headmistress Kirova's outrage returned. She obviously didn't want Rose here. "Stories that are centuries old. Surely you aren't suggesting that we let her stay at the Academy after everything that she's done?"

I shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—"

"Wild and disrespectful?" Rose interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"

Ouch. I suppresses a groan. She wasn't helping my cause. Couldn't she see I was trying to help her? Trying to keep her here?

"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now. Her _sanctioned_ guardian."

I hoped Rose would stay silent.

"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?" Cheap foreign labor? Why did I want to help her again?

Headmistress Kirova threw her hands in the air and turned to me. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and _very_ raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."

"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again," I argued.

"Impossible. She'll be hopelessly behind her peers."

"No, I won't," rose said. Headmistress Kirova ignored her.

We continued back and forth with each other until Headmistress Kirova demanded, "Who's going to put in the extra time? You?"

My argument came to a stop. "Well, that's not what I—"

Headmistress Kirova crossed her arms. "Yes. That's what I thought."

I frowned and looked at Vasilisa and Rose. They were two girls that broke out of a high-security school, took half of Vasilisa's inheritance, and hid for two years.

But they also had big, pleading eyes. How hard could it be? Maybe Rose wouldn't be that hard to get along with...

"Yes," I said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."

"And then what?" demanded Headmistress Kirova. "She goes unpunished?"

"Find some other way to punish her," I answered. "Guardian numbers have gone down to much to risk losing another. A girl in particular."

Prince Victor spoke up. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."

Headmistress Kirova stared out the window at the complete blackness.

Vasilisa met her eyes when she turned around. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."

After a moment, Headmistress Kirova sighed.

"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned to Rose. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line _once_, and you're gone. You'll attend all classes and required training for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have—before _and_ after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities except for means, and you will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away."

Rose gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" She nodded at Vasilisa. "Afraid we'll run away again?"

"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for. "She paused. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."

Rose started to say something, but stopped when she caught my gaze. She was an idiot to keep fighting with Headmistress Kirova. Surely Rose could see that this offer would keep her with Vasilisa.

She looked away from me to the floor. After a moment, she made her decision; she glanced at the headmistress.

"Fine. I accept."

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**it might be more than a day or two for the next chapter. **

**~~~It will never be more than a week, though!!!~~~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Usual: i don't own anything!!!**

**It might be a week before i can get chapter 4 put up. sorry, sorry, sorry!!! **

**Promise i'll get it up soon. thank you to all those who review this story: **

**ttaylor_marie; **SunShineTddyBr; Annika_Taylor; ** vampirebooklover09; ****I-Luv-Dimitri-Belikov; XxSunShinelovesTeddyBearxX**

**the rest of you, please R&R!!!**

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**CHAPTER 3**

We left Headmistress Kirova's office. Alberta and I escorted Rose to the guidance office to get a class schedule.

Since the Moroi have different morning classes, Rose wouldn't see Vasilisa until after lunch.

Alberta and I walked with Rose to the guardian's gym for first period. She walked behind us and neither of us acknowledged her, even though I was aware of her. Startlingly so.

When we reached the gym, all eyes fell onto Rose. I don't know why, but all those boys looking at her made me…mad.

Rose looked around for a familiar face. Seeing one, she called out.

"Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."

Wow. What an opening statement.

A few snorts of laughter broke the silence. Mason Ashford gave Rose a lopsided grin. He had red hair that stuck up everywhere and a lot of freckles.

"This _is_ my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session."

"Oh yeah?" Rose retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked then."

"It's _always_ a good time to think about you naked," Eddie Castile added.

I shook my head and walked off muttering, "I was stupid to help her stay here," in Russian.

I found a place where I could watch without being seen.

Rose laughed with the other novices until the supervisor came over and scolded Ashford for not doing anything.

He grinned and yelled orders to the other novices. Rose looked uneasy.

Ashford, noticing Rose's hesitation, grabbed her arm so she could practice with him.

After an hour, it was clear that Rose hadn't been practicing anything over the last two years.

Ashford helped her up off the mat and stood talking to her. He looked surprised at what she told him. He said something that made her look angry.

She elbowed him and walked off to her second period: Bodyguard theory.

A couple other guardians and myself stayed at the back of the class room.

The instructor, Stan Alto, walked in and pretended to be surprised by Rose's attendance. He went to stand by her desk.

"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very _generous_ of you to take the time out of your bust schedule and share your knowledge with us."

Rose's cheeks burned with embarrassment. She obviously wanted to say a couple of choice words, but held back. Her face delivered the message, though. Stan's sneer increased as he gestured for her to stand up.

"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front of the class."

Rose shrank back. "You don't really mean—"

"I mean _exactly_ what I say, Hathaway, go to the front of the class."

Refusing to back down, Rose strode to the front of the class, gave the class a bold look, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. The class was silent. She noticed the guardian in the back of the class.

Outside the academy, guardians focused on one-on-one protection. Here, guardians had a lot more people to protect and they had to train the novices. So rather than follow any one person around, we work shifts guarding the school as a whole and monitoring classes.

"So, Hathaway," Stan said, walking to the front of the class. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."

Rose stuttered. "My…techniques?"

"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took and underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats."

"We never ran into any Strigoi," Rose said stiffly.

"Obviously," Stan said with a snicker. It made me want to tell him to back off. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive."

Rose didn't say anything.

"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"

"Sometimes."

"_Sometimes_," he repeated in a high-pitched voice. "Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."

"Er…no."

"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding? Oh, wait. You wouldn't know that because _you weren't here_."

"I watched the area whenever we went out," Rose said, trying to defend herself.

"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"

She didn't answer.

"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method.

"No!" Rose said angrily. "That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?"

Stan leaned into her face. "Because you got _lucky_."

"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," she shot back. "It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."

"Safer? _Safer?_ We are at war with the Strigoi!' he yelled. He was so close to her that he was practically kissing her. I moved forward to pull him back, but another guardian stopped with.

"Let him yell," the guardian said. I stepped back and continued to watch.

"…you are nothing, _nothing,_ compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?"

Rose looked like she might cry. Alto was really a jerk. Rose looked away from him; searching for something else to focus on. Her eyes came to rest on me and the other guardians. We were watching with impassive faces.

"Moroi blood," she whispered.

"What was that? I didn't catch it." I knew he was lying. I heard her and I was across the room.

She spun to face him. "Moroi Blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger."

I turned and whispered to the guardian next to me, "He really likes embarrassing her, doesn't he?"

The guardian nodded. "They use to fight all the time. I think this is his payback."

"What did she do to him?"

"She was always just really disrespectful to him."

I nodded and looked at Rose. Alto was still babbling. "And as the Moroi disappear…"

"…so do the dhampirs," Rose finished.

"Well," Stan said. "it looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see in you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester."

Rose returned to her seat and spent the rest of the class looking anxious. She was probably worried about the field experience.

I wanted to go to her next two classes, but unfortunately, I had to go watch an elementary class on the lower campus.

The whole time I kept thinking of her.

Her hair was so pretty and long. _She_ was pretty. Just like those novices had said.

Then my thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

I was thinking this stuff about an underage girl!!!

I thought about it. No. I would not feel this way. I was her mentor. I was seven years her senior. We would both be Vasilisa's guardians.

I had a feeling that this would end in nothing good.

**

I headed toward the commons after two classes. I managed to not think about rose. Until I saw her stumbling along to the same place I was.

I fell into step beside her.

"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" she asked.

"Yes."

"And you don't think that was unfair?"

"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?"

She looked down. "I kept her alive."

"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?" I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from her. When she didn't say anything, I continued. "If you can't fight _them_—"

"Yea, yeah, I know," she snapped.

I slowed my stride to match hers. "You're fast and strong by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "Now and then."

"You didn't join any teams?"

"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here."

I gave her and exasperated look. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking."

"I'll be able to protect her."

"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know—for your field experience _or_ after you graduate. No one wants to waste the bond—but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lesions. You have me. Use us or don't. You're and ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate—if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will."

I expected something, but it wasn't what she said.

"Lissa, call her Lissa."

I walked away, sort of mad. I wondered if she even heard anything I said. Maybe this wasn't worth it.

I walked to the headmistress's office. I knocked and was told to enter.

"Guardian Belikov." She greeted me. I nodded at her and before I could say anything, she said, "If this is about you mentoring Rose, save your breath. You said you'd do it, so you will."

No much surprises me. This did.

"How did you know?"

"I knew you wouldn't be able to go five minutes with her without being frustrated at her. And I knew after you saw what kind of girl she is, you'd want out of it. And the answer is no."

I nodded again and turned to leave.

Guardian Belikov," she said. I turned to her. "If anyone has a prayer of teaching her control, you do."

And with that, I left the office.

I walked back to my room. I had a while until I had to go for my session with Rose.

I picked up one of my favorite western books and sat down on my bed.

I needed to relax, and what better way than with a good book?


	4. Chapter 4

**As usual, I own nothing!! **

**please Read and Review. **

**Sorry it's so short. Chapter 5 will be longer. this was just nessesary to keep the chapter alined in the actual book. **

**might be a while for the nxt chapter! i saw that everytime, but just letting you guys know.**

**~Rose**

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**Chapter 4**

When it was time for my training session with Rose, I took my book with me. I was getting to the good part and really didn't want to put it down.

She wasn't at the gym. So, I had another quality to add to the list: unpunctual.

I went over by her last class. She was sitting on a bench with Vasi—Lissa. She was sitting with Lissa. I walked up behind them.

"All right then," Rose said. "We'll see how this goes. If anything goes wrong—anything at all—we leave. No arguments."

Lissa nodded.

"Rose?" I said. They looked up at me. Rose regarded me with a blank face; Lissa looked guilty.

"You're late for practice." I gave a polite nod to Lissa. "Princess."

Rose and I walked away. We were in the middle of the quad separating the upper school buildings when it happened.

Rose's eyes glazed over and she stopped abruptly.

"Rose?" I asked. She didn't respond.

This wasn't good.


	5. Chapter 5

**I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!!!**

**here's chapter five. see! it's longer than chapter 4!!! Okay. idk when the nxt chapter will be up. **

**Please r&r. **_**please!!!!!!**_

**~Rose**

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**CHAPTER 5**

I leaned toward Rose with my hands on her shoulders.

"Rose? Rose?" Blinking, she finally focused on my face. I almost breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you all right?"

"I…yeah. I was…I was with Lissa…." She put a hand on her forehead. "I was in her head."

"Her…head?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah. It's part of the bond." She didn't elaborate.

"Is she all right?"

"Yeah, she's…" She hesitated. "She's not in danger."

"Can you keep going?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

We continued to the gym. She went into the dressing rooms and changed. When she came out, she suggested to me that I should let her off this time.

I laughed.

"Why is that funny?' she demanded.

"Oh," I said, my smile fading. "You were serious."

"Of course I was! Look, I've technically been awake for _two_ days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed. It's just one hour."

I crossed my arms and looked down at her. "How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?"

"I hurt like hell," she responded.

I suppressed a smile. "You'll feel worse tomorrow."

"So?"

"So, better to jump in now while you still feel…not as bad."

"What kind of logic is that?"

She didn't argue anymore as I lead her to the weight room. I showed her the weights and reps I wanted her to do, then went to sit in a corner with my book.

I read while she did the excersises. When she finished, I stood beside her and demonstrated a few cool down stretches.

"How'd you end up as Lissa's guardian?" she asked me. "You weren't here a few years ago. Were you even trained at this school?"

I didn't answer right away. The memory was still painful. I answered her last question first. "No. I attended the one in Siberia."

"Whoa. That's got to be the only place worse than Montna."

I suppressed another smile. I had a hard time keeping a straight face with her.

"After I graduated, I was a guardian for a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently. They sent me here because they needed extras on campus. When the princess turned up, they assigned me to her, since I'd already be around. Not that it matters until she leaves campus."

She thought for a second. "Did this lord die on your watch?"

"No. He was with his other guardian. I was away."

I fell silent, thinking about it. I still felt guilty about not being there to protect him.

"Hey," she said suddenly. "Did you help comeup with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that."

I arched an eyebrow. "You're complimenting me on that?"

"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried."

"Last one?" There had only been one.

"Yeah. In Chicago. With the pack of psi-hounds."

"This was the first time we found you. In Portland," I said.

She sat up from her streaches and crossed her legs. "Um, I don't think I imagined the psi-hounds. Who else could have sent them? They only answer to Moroi. Maybe no one told you about it."

That wasn't likely. "Maybe," I said anyway.

She went to the dorms and I went back to the headmistress's office.

"Guardian Belikov," she said in surprise. Then she turned critical. "What did Miss Hathaway do now?"

"It's not what she did, it's what she told me."

She sighed. "Let's here it."

I told her about the conversation between rose and myself.

"Someone else is after Vasilisa," I said. "And it might be someone in this very school."

Headmistress Kirova looked out the window. "Why do they want Vasilisa so bad? There…there must be something."

"Who could have sent the hounds?" I asked.

"Who do you think?" she asked.

I thought about it. "Someone who knows Vasilisa. Someone who she thinks is her friend."

She scowled. "I wish I knew for certain. We need to make sure she stays safe." She turned to me. "Keep this to yourself, Belikov. Don't let anyone else know until _we_ know who sent them."

I nodded and left. I wanted to protect the Dragomir princess. If i knew who sent the psi-hounds, i could have a chance to protect her better.

The next morning, I could tell Rose was hurting. But, she survived. She left and I went off to monitor classes.

I was almost certain that Rose knew something about Lissa that she wasn't telling anyone.

I could also tell that she didn't trust me. She thought she was alone in protecting Lissa. Maybe in time she would trust me.

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**Now that you've read, review!!!!!**

**thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Don't own anything!**

**Here's chapter six!! yeah! Okay. I'll get 7 up soon. **

**Sorry it's so short. like i said before, when i get done with the who book, i'll go back and add more to the chapters.**

**read and review, please**

**~Rose**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 6**

A couple days later, I saw Rose somewhere that surprised me.

I was sitting at the back of the church. She and Lissa walked in.

As i watched, it was clear she didn't come for the services. She came to talk to Lissa.

I stopped focusing on her and started thinking about other things. Church was a good place to do that. I never really listen to the service either, so I guess I can't criticize Rose.

Being a guardian, it was my job to kill Strigoi and keep the Moroi society safe.

But that didn't mean I had to like killing others.

At one point, all Strigoi were alive. They were either human, Moroi, or dhampir. Some changed because they wanted to, but I could never do that. If I turned, it would be by force.

I never, ever would, of course. If I turned Strigoi, there would be one less dhampir to protect Moroi. After Ivan, I was more commited to helping Moroi than ever.

I glanced at Lissa. I would do anything to protect her. And I knew Rose would too.

I wondered what my mother and sisters were doing. It'd been so long since I had been home.

I missed Siberia a lot. I missed everything about it. Siberia would always be 'home' to me. Montana never could.

I sighed. the service was over. I stood and left the church. Outside, Alberta was waiting for me.

"Belikov," she greeted me.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted me to get someone else to cover your shift tonight. You could come and hang out with the other guardians."

Now I shook my head. "No. I'll do my shift."

She looked at me as we walked toward the gym. "It wouldn't hurt to take alittle time off," she said gently.

I gave her a small smile. "Guardians never have time off." I didn't mention that time off _could_ hurt.

"Come on. Why don't you want to come hang out tonight?"

I shook my head again and pulled open the doors to the gym. "I'm okay not to 'hang out'," I said.

"I know," she said with a sigh. "I'll give the other guadians the disappointing news."

I went inside to the weight room. I needed to work off some stress.

--

I walked my shift that night thinking.

I should never have left my former charge. I shouldn't have been away. He might still be alive.

On the fourth lap around the perimiter of the school, another guardian came to relieve me. I walked slowly through campus to the dorms.

Everyday, I thought about Ivan.

Maybe I could do better with Lissa. Learn from my mistakes.

When I got to my room and had a shower, I fell into bed, thinking about tomorrow's training with Rose.


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing!**

**Here's chapter seven! yeah! it's long! lol. r&r! thanks!**

**~Rose**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 7**

Weeks passed. The shock of Lissa and Rose's return wore off a little. It seemed Rose's life revolved around going to church to hang out with Lissa, lunch with Lissa, and whatever free time she had.

She and I fell into a pattern. I could tell that the exercising wasn't hurting that much was training and working out all the time.

Lately, I'd been sending her outside to run in the ever increasing cold of the Montana autumn.

Three weeks after her return, she walked into the gym--late--to find me laying on the mats reading a book by Louis L'Amour and listening to "When Doves Cry" by Prince.

"Whoa, Dimitri," she said, tossing her bag to the floor. "I realize this is actually a current hit in Eastern Europe right now, but do you think we could listent o something that wasn't recorded before I was born?" Funny. Ever the quick witted person.

My eyes flicked toward her, but I didn't move. I didn't want to encourage her jokes. "What does it matter to you? I'm the one who's going to be listening to it. You'll be outside running." Or maybe I'd run with her today.

She made a face and began to stretch. She moved onto the second set of stretches, then she spoke. "Hey, what's with all the running, anyway? I mean, I realize the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to something with a little more hitting? They're still killing me in group practice."

"Maybe you should hit harder," I said, making a little joke of my own.

"I'm serious," she said.

"Hard to tell the difference." I set my book down, but didn't get up. "My job is to get you ready to defend the princess adn fight dark creatures, right?"

"Yup."

"So tell me: suppose you manage to kidnap her again"--of course, I knew she hadn't kidnapped her--"and take her off to the mall. While you're there, a Strigoi comes at you. What will you do?"

"Depends on what store we're in."

Ha. Funny. I just looked at her.

"Fine. I'll stab him with a silver stake."

I sat up and crossed my legs. Her eyes followed the movement. "Oh?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Do you have a silver stake? Do you even know how to use one?"

She scowled. "Okay, I'll cut his head off."

"Ignoring the fact that you don't have a weapon to do that, how will you compensate for the fact that he may be a foot taller than you?"

She straightened out of her stretches, annoyed. "Fine, then I'll set him on fire."

"Again, with what?"

"All right. I give up. You've already got the 're just messing with me. I'm at the mall and I see a Strigoi. What do I do?"

I just looked at her. "You run."  
She finished her stretches and I told her I'd run with her. Her times hadn't been getting better. My offer seeme to surprise her. Did she really think me running with her was a surprise? After all, I was her mentor.

We set out into the chilly October evening. We didn't speak even though I slowed my speed to match hers so we could run togehter.

That seemed to bother her, and she increased her speed.

When we reached the third-to-last loop, other novices passed by, preparing to go to group practice. Among them was Mason Ashford.

"Good form, Rose!" he called. Rose smiled and waved back. For some reason that irritated me. My words came out harsher than I meant for them to.

"You're slowing down," I snapped. "Is this why your times aren't getting any faster? You're easily distracted?" _By boys,_ I mentally added.

She looked embarrassed and increased her speed again.. When we finished, I checked the time and saw she shaved two minutes off her best time.

"Not bad, huh? Looks like I could get to the Limited before the Strigoi got me at the mall. Not sure how Lissa would do."

"If she was with you, she'd be okay."

She looked up surprised at my compliment. I looked into her warm brown eyes, amused. Okay, so maybe I didn't compliment her enough.

Suddenly, her face twisted in pain. Her eyes clouded over.

She blinked and then took off running, faster than she had when we were training. I caught up to her and asked her what was wrong, but she either didn't hear me or didn't want to waste her breath.

We met a crying Lissa near the dorm. Suddenly, I understood. She'd been in Lissa's head again and knew Lissa needed her. I still couldn't quite comprehend that. But, then again, no one really understood the bond they had.

Rose made Lissa look into her eyes. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Lissa didn't answer. She clutched Rose and sobbed onto her chest. Rose stroked her hair, telling her it would be all right. I hovered over them, alert and ready for any threat.

A half hour later, we were in Lissa's dorm room. There were three other guardians and Ms. Kirova. The hall matron was there, also.

Lissa was sharing a room with Prince Victor Dashkov's daughter, Natalie. The two sides of the room were opposites of each other.

Natalie's side was cluttered, but Lissa's was bare. She had a yellow bedspread and a picture of her and Rose dressed up like faries for what I presumed was Halloween. They had glittery make up and wings on. Lissa's side was almost boring.

Except for the dead fox on her bed.

With all the excitement, no one seemed to remember that Rose wasn't suppose to be there. Outside in the hall, other Moroi girls were crowding around, trying to see what was happening. Natalie pushed her way through them, wondering what all the commotion in her room was. When she saw, she came to an abrupt halt.

Shock and disgust was on everyone's faces.

Lissa and Rose started whispering to each other.

"It was still alive when I got back," Lissa said. "Barely. Oh God, it was twitching. It must have suffered so much."

"Did you--" _Didn't what?_ I wondered.

"No. I wanted to...I started to..." _Started to WHAT?_

"Then forget about it," Rose said sharply. "It's stupid. Somebody's stupid joke. They'll clean it up. Probably give you a new room if you want."

Lissa turned to look Rose in the eyes. "Rose...do you remember...that one time..."

I was starting to suspect something was going on.

"Stop it. Forget about it. This isn't the same thing."

"What if someone saw? What if someone knows?..."

Lissa flinched as Rose squeezed her arm. "No. It's not the same. It has nothing to do with that. Do you hear me? It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Lissa nodded, not looking like she believed it.

"Get this cleaned up," Ms. Kirova snapped. "And find out if anyone saw anything."

Someone finally realized Rose wasn't suppose to be there and ordered me to take her out of the dorm. Rose begged to be allowed to stay with Lissa, but they wouldn't let her.

I walked her to the novices' dorm. I didn't speak until we were almost there. "You know something. Something about what happened. is this what you meant when you told Headmistress Kirova that Lissa was in danger?"

"I don't know anything. It's just some sick joke."

"Do you have any idea who'd do it? Or why?" I pressed.

She paused considering. "No. No clue."

"Rose, if you know something, tell me. We're on the same side. We both want to protect her. This is serious."

She spun to face me. "Yeah, it _is_ serious. It's all serious. And you have me doing laps every day when I should be learning how to fight and defend her! If you want to help her, then teach me something! _Teach me how to fight._ I already know how to run away."

I watched her calmly. "Come on. You're late for practice."

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**I'm working on ch. 8!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! **

**Once again, I own nothing. **

**This was a short chapter in the book. Dimitri isn't mentioned in chapter 8, so, I got to make my own conversations and settings! Hope you like it! **

**Sorry it took so long to put this up. My computer's been acting up lately. I'm going to try and get 9 and 10 up by Saturday. Well, if my computer cooperates. **

**Hope everyone's doing well!!! =D**

**~Rose**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 8**

I'm not sure what exactly it was about her.

Maybe it was her eyes, or maybe the way she held herself while she walked and fought. It seemed she was confident in everything she did. Maybe it was her dedication to protecting the princess.

Whatever it was, I found myself thinking about her constantly. My feelings for Rosemarie Hathaway were getting more pronounced with each training session. I realized I looked forward to that most in my day.

After the fox incident, Headmistress Kirova called me to her office. For once, her composure was gone.

"How could this have happened?" she asked, more frustrated than she was with Rose. "Who could have done it?"

She looked expectantly at me, like I had the answer. "It could have been anyone. All we know for certain is it was someone at this school."

"Yes. The key word is _anyone_." She turned to look out the window. I noticed she did that a lot. Like she'd rather be outside than be in her office dealing with this stuff. I could relate to that. I'd rather be anywhere than here, too. She had a habit of calling me into her office when she wanted to...express her feelings.

"Well, it narrows down the threat," I said. And it certainly did. No one else could have done it. That left the culprit to be either a student, a guardian, or an instructor.

"I've heard the rumors," she said.

"What rumors are those, Headmistress?" I asked. I'd heard numerous rumors too. Some worse than others.

"Rumors that Rose did this to get kicked out. That she _and_ Vasilisa did it."

"No," I said automatically. "Rose would never do that."

"How can you be so sure? You're her mentor, not her shadow. Maybe she did it when you weren't around."

"No," I said again. "If you saw Rose... She was in Lissa's head when she found it in her room. Lissa was really, really upset. Rose wouldn't do that to her."

"In her head?" Ms. Kirova looked at me like _I_ was the insane one.

"It's part of the bond," I said, repeating what Rose told me. "Rose can feel and see what Lissa does, but it doesn't happen the other way around."

Headmistress Kirova was silent, staring out her window. "Keep and eye on Rose, anyway. If your certain she didn't do it...well, I just want to make sure."

I nodded. An excuse to be near Rose? It wasn't like that was a hardship.

Wait. I should not have thought that. This was not good. I couldn't be thinking about her like that. Even if she was beautiful and had the most gorgeous eyes...

"Guardian Belikov--" She started to say something else, but one of the students came in.

"Mr. Ozera, what are you doing?" Headmistress Kirova demanded.

"Ms. Meissner sent me to see you," Christian Ozera said.

Headmistress Kirova raised and eyebrow. "You were sent to see me? For what, this time?"

The way she said it implied he was usually in trouble for something.

"Setting Ralf Sarcozy on fire," he said, casually.

I looked at him in shock. So did Ms. Kirova.

"You did what?" Headmistress Kirova's eyes bulged. I figured I should leave, but I didn't.

"I set Sarcozy on fire because he was harassing Rose and Lissa about the fox. He was saying they did it to get kicked out." He gave a shrug. "I didn't like the way he was talking to Lissa and Rose."

That raised my opinion of him a few notches. I usually didn't even notice Christian Ozera very much. Okay, so no one really did. His parents were a classic example of Moroi turning Strigoi. Christian's parents tried to kidnap him and turn him, but his aunt, Tasha, kept them at bay until the guardians arrived. Tasha was injured and scared, but Christian escaped unscathed.

The funny thing was, no one even knew how to use magic offensively. Then I remembered Tasha. She was big on learning offensive magic after Christian's parents...died. I was willing to bet that's where he learned it.

"Regardless of why you did it, you still used magic offensively. you know that is forbidden by our laws. As punishment, you will be suspended for one weeks."

Christian nodded and stood to leave.

"Don't let it happen again," Headmistress Kirova warned.

He left and Ms. Kirova turned back to me. "I guess you aren't the only one that believes Rose is innocent.

"Guess not."

"Very well, Guardian Belikov, you can go. Remember to keep and eye on Rose. As her mentor, her behavior reflects upon you. Remember that as well."

I nodded and left. Christian Ozera used magic to stop people from harassing Lissa and Rose. Did that mean he liked Rose? Or Lissa? Reguardless, I didn't think either one should be with Christian. Okay, actually, I didn't think Rose should be with Christian.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Why did I have to fall for Rose? No doubt, this would end in something bad. Very bad.

And then there was Headmistress Kirova's last statement, _Her behavior reflects upon you._

Everyone knew she was wild and disrespectful. She'd proven that on her first day back. It still hurt that she had thought of me as cheap foreign labor. Ouch.

But at the same time, I wondered if that was how she still saw me. During training, I'd sometimes catch her looking at me in a way that made it seem like she was checking me out. Was it possible that she liked me like I liked her?

_No_, I thought. I was stupid for even thinking about that. Or thinking about her. It was highly inappropriate. _Highly_.

But I couldn't help it.

And that was bad.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter 9!! yay! **

**As per the usual, I do not own VA or any characters.**

**I hope you guys like it!**

**~Rose**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 9**

Keep an eye on Rose. That's what the headmistress told me to do, and that was what I planned on doing.

That night, I went to find Rose to see if she wanted to really learn to fight. It'd take up a lot of her time, but it would hopefully keep her out of trouble.

Except she wasn't in her room. I went to the first floor and worked my way up. Nothing. I was about to open the door to the stairs and go up to the fourth floor when I thought about it. Why would Rose be on the fourth floor? She probably snuck out. There wasn't anything up on the fourth floor. The drop in guardian numbers over the years meant a lot of the dorm stayed empty.

I shrugged and climbed the stairs, anyway. Maybe she'd be there, maybe she wouldn't.

I stepped out of the stair well and heard talking.

"But you _want_ to. You like it. All you dhamp girls do," a male voice said.

Then I heard a voice that made me furious. "Stop it," she said gently. "I told you, I'm not like that. But if you want something to do with your mouth, I can give you some ideas."

"Yeah? Like wha--"

I couldn't take listening to it anymore. I burst through the door. Rose and the boy sprang apart. In a flash, I was over to the couch and had the boy by his shirt.

"What's your name?" I barked out.

"J-Jesse, sir. Jesse Zeklos, sir," the boy stuttered.

"Mr. Zeklos, do you have permission to be in this part of the dorm?" No. Of course not.

"No, sir."

"Do you know the rules about male and female interactions around here?" Yes, he did.

"Yes, sir."

"Then I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you over to someone who will punish you accordingly. If I ever see you like this again"--I pointed to Rose on the couch--"_I _will be the one to punish you. And it will hurt. A lot. Do you understand?" Damn right it would. If I ever caught Rose with him again, it would hurt. If I ever caught her with any guy, I would hurt them.

His eyes widened. "Yes, sir!"

"Then _go._" I releases him and turned to chew Rose out worse. How could she do that?

But then I saw her. I mean, really saw her. It kind of surprised me a little.

She was cowering on the couch with nothing but her black bra and jeans on. And she looked _really_ good. She blushed when she saw me staring so intently at her. Immediately, I felt embarrassed. Great. Just great. I'd been checking her out with her watching me. How stupid was I?

"See something you like?" she asked with her usual attitude. Yes, I did. Not that I'd ever get it.

"Get dressed," I said. Any hint of my former slip up was gone, replaced by the usual guardian fascade.

"How'd you find me? You following me to make sure I don't run away?"

Wow, she was good. My anger at myself for showing anything made me snap at her. Without thought, I leaned forward. "Be quiet." _Think of a lie, think of a lie! Think of _anything_ other than how great she looked!_ "A janitor saw you and reported it. Do you have any idead how stupid this was?" _Or how mad I am?_ I wanted to add.

"I know, I know, the whole probation thing, right?"

"Not just that. I'm talking about the stupidity of getting into _that_ kind of situation in the first place."

"I get into _that_ kind of situation all the time, Comrade. It's not a big deal."

"Stop calling me that. You don't even know what you're talking baout."

"Sure I do. I had to do a report on Russia and the R.S.S.R. last year."

"_U_.S.S.R. And it is a big deal for a Moroi to be with a dhampir grl. They like to brag."

"So?"

"_So?_" I gave her a disgusted looked. "So don't you have any respect? Think about Lissa. You make yourself look cheap. You live up to what a lot of people already think about dhampir girls, and it reflets back on her. And me." I said the last part thinking about what Headmistress Kirova had said earlier.

"Oh, I see. Is that what this is about? Am I hurting your big, bad male pride? Are you afraid I'll ruin your reputation?"

"My reputation is already made, Rose. I set my standards and lived up to them long ago. What you do with yours remains to be seen. Now get back to your room--if you can manage it without throwing yourself at someone else."  
"Is that a subtle way of calling me a slut?"

"I hear the stories you guys tell. I've heard the stories about you."

Suddenly, she was blinking back tears. _Way to go, Belikov_, I thought.

"Why is it wrong to...I don't know, have fun? I'm seventeen, you know. I should be able to enjoy it."

My voice was firm and gentle when I spoke next. "You're seventeen, and in less than a year, someone's life and death will be in your hands. If you were human or Moroi, you could have fun. You could do things other girls could."

"But you're saying I can't."

I glanced away from her. "When I was seventeen, I met Ivan Zeklos. We weren't like you and Lissa, but we became friends, and he requested me as his guardian when I graduated. I was the top student in my school. I paid attention to everything in my classes, but in the end, it wasn't enough. That's how it is in this life. One slip, one distraction..." I sighed. "And it's too late.

"Jesse's a Zeklos," she said suddenly.

"I know."

"Does it bother you? Boes he remind you of Ivan?"

Yes, It did bother me. A lot. "It doesn't matter how I feel. It doesn't matter how any of us feel."

"But it does bother you. You hurt. Every day. Don't you? You miss him."

I looked at her in surprise. It was almost like she could read my mind. Everyday, it hurt and I missed him. Then my surprise vanished. "It doesn't matter how I feel. _They_ come firt. Protecting them."

She looked thoughtful for a second. "Yeah. They do."

It was silent for a long time.

"You told me you want to fight, to _really_ fight. Is that still true?" I asked. May as well discuss what I was going to earlier.

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Rose...I can teach you, but I have to believe you're dedicated. Really dedicated. I can't have you distracted by things like this." I guestured around the lounge. Plus, I didn't want doing things like that with other guys. "Can I trust you?"

"Yes. I promise."

"All right. I'll teach you, but I need you strong. I know you hate the running, but it really is necessary. You have no idea what Strigoi are like. The school tries to prepare you, but until you've seen how strong they are and how fast...well, you can't even imagine. So I can't stop the running and the conditioning. If you want to learn more about fighting, we need to add more trainings. It'll take up more of your time. You won't have much left for your homework or anything else. You'll be tired. A lot."

She thought about what I said. "It doesn't matter. If you tell me to do it, I'll do it."

I studied her, trying to determine if she was telling me the truth.

Finally, I gave her a sharp nod. "We'll start tomorrow."

As we left the lounge, part of me was happier than I'd been since I came here to St. Vladimir's.

And it all had to do with feelings for a teenage girl.

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**Ooooohhhh! Dimitri's in love! **

**almost.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey people! **

**Here's chapter 10! **

**It's pretty short. Sorry!!! *embarrassed smile***

**Usual: I don't own anything! **

**Read and review, please!**

**Thanks!**

**~Rose**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 10**

In the next couple days, all I could think about was Rose. I kept seeing her in her bra and jeans.

It was unbelievably frustrating.

Why couldn't she have been in her room instead of with that Zeklos boy? None of this would have happened if I hadn't been assigned to mentor her.

But did I really want her to be sent off or mentored by someone else?

No. Absolutely not.

I found myself watching her before and after practice. How had I never realized how beautiful she was?

Soon, inappropriate images filled my head. Rose and I in bed…kissing…

How did this start happening? I was insane not to leave now while I had the chance. I could tell then I couldn't guard Lissa. I should leave.

But I couldn't bring myself to.

True to her word, Rose was coming earlier to practice and staying later. She didn't complain about the amount of work I had her doing.

It was so damn hard to stay professional. I had no right to feel this way. So why did I? What was it about Rosemarie Hathaway?

I was walking across the quad when one of the instructors, Nagy, caught up with me.

"Belikov. Just wanted to congratulate you on your handling of Hathaway."

What the hell? "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about finding her and Jesse Zeklos. She and the Dragomir girl were passing notes in my class. She said you 'bitched her out'. Good job. That girl gets away with too much."

"I didn't bitch her out," I denied. "We discussed why she shouldn't do what she was doing."

He gave me a look and called out a goodbye. He went back toward his room.

So, everyone found out anyway. By the end of the day, there were going to be some nasty rumors about Rose. At least no one knew about the way I was looking at Rose.

I sighed, wishing I could somehow protect Rose.


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's chapter 11! Way longer than Ch. 10. =) **

**Don't own anything!  
Please, r&r!**

**Thanks!  
~Rose**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 11**

For once, Rose was on time.

She arrived in the gym and I saw her looking me up and down.

Trying not to think of that, I positioned her in front of me so that we stood facing each other. "What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a Strigoi?"

"They're immortal?"

"Think of something more basic."

She considered that. "They could be bigger than me. And stronger."

I nodded. "That makes it difficult, but not impossible. You can usually use a person's extra height and weight against them."

I demonstrated a few maneuvers for her to do.

"Go ahead. Try to hit me."

She didn't need to be told twice. Lunging forward, she tried to land a blow, but I knocke3d her down onto the mat. She jumped up again.

After several failed attempts, she stood up and held her hands out in a truce. "Okay, what am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing."

She didn't look convinced. "If I wasn't doing anything wrong, I'd have rendered you unconscious by now."

I held back a smile. "Unlikely. Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done it for years."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Grandpa. Can we try it again?"

"We're out of time. Don't you want to get ready?" The queen was coming and everyone was allowed to go to the banquet.

She looked at the clock. "Hell, yeah, I do."

I walked off ahead of her. I could feel her studying me, and knew what she was planning.

She leapt at my back, but before she could make contact, I spun around. In one motion, I grabbed her and threw her on the mats, pinning her down.

She groaned. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

I looked into her eyes and held her wrists to the ground. This was actually pretty funny. "The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not to yell next time."

"Would it have really made a difference if I'd been quiet?"

I thought about it. "No. Probably not."

She sighed loudly. I knew I should get up. This was dangerous. Very much so.

My face was inches from hers, and my legs and torso were pressed against her.

She was obviously trying not to show anything. Was it possible--? No.

"So um…you got any other moves to show me?"

My lips twitched. Did I ever. I shifted off her and stood up. "Come on. We should go."

She got to her feet and I heard her follow. I didn't look back. I had one goal in mind: get away from Rose Hathaway. Fast.

--

The commons had been transformed into a beautiful dining room. The tables had been arranged in a straight line so they made an aisle. The queen was going to walk down that.

Guardians lined the walls. I stared straight ahead, refusing to look at Rose.

Everyone stood up respectfully when the royals came in and walked down the aisle to the head table.

Once that group had passed, four guardians entered the commons. Everyone but the guardians went to their knees. The gesture was supposed to be out loyalty.

Queen Tatiana followed her guards. She moved slowly with four more guardians at her back.

She smiled here and there at the novice section. When she got to the Moroi section, she paused, talking to some of the royal students.

"Vasilisa Dragomir."

I looked at Rose. Her head shot up and she pushed out of her position to get a better view.

I was so busy studying at Rose, that I only head the end of the queens speech to Lissa.

"Yes you are doubly named with power. Your names represent the finest qualities people have to offer and hearken back in time to deeds of greatness and valor." She paused. "But, as you have demonstrated, names do _not_ make a person. Nor do they have any bearing on how that person turns out."

With that, she turned away and continued her procession.

The room was in shock.

Rose looked like she was ready to jump the queen. Lucky for her, she decided against it. All through dinner, she was shifting restlessly, no doubt feeling Lissa's embarrassment.

--

When dinner was over, Lissa made a line for the doors. I was about to follow, but saw Rose going after her. I'd wait and give them a second. Lissa needed it.

I walked out to the garden a few minutes later to find Rose. Headmistress Kirova told me to take her back to her dorm.

I saw her and walked forward. She was surrounded by a group of girls. Trust Rose to get into a fight.

I went and stood next to Rose. "Everything all right?"

"Sure thing, Guardian Belikov," Rose said smiling. I could see she was still madder than hell. "We were just swapping family stories. Ever heard Mia's? It's _fascinating._"

"Come on," the girl, Mia, said to her friends. They walked away.

"I'm supposed to take you back to your dorm. You weren't about to start a fight, were you?"

"Of course not. I don't start fights where people can see them."

"Rose," Lissa groaned.

"Let's go. Good night, Princess," I said.

I turned, but Rose didn't. "You going to be okay, Liss?"

She nodded. "I'm fine."

"Liss…"

She gave her a small smile and nodded in my direction. "I told you, I'm fine. You've got to go."

Rose finally followed me. "We may need to add an extra training on self control."

"I have plenty of self contro—hey!"

She stopped talking as Christian Ozera went passed up. "You going to see Lissa?" she demanded of Christian.

He stuffed his hands in his pants. "What if I am?"

"Rose, this isn't the time," I said.

She ignored me. "Why don't you just leave her alone? Are you so messed up and desperate for attention that you can't tell when someone doesn't like you? You're some crazy stalker and she knows it. She's told me all about your weird obsession—how you're always hanging out in the attic together, how you set Ralf on fire to impress her. She thinks you're a freak but she's too nice to say anything."

"But _you_ aren't too nice?"

"No. Not when I feel sorry for someone."

"Enough," I said, steering Rose away.

Christian said something, but I didn't catch it. Rose did.

"No problem," she called.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! here's another chapter to VA! **

**I own nothing... :)**

**hope you guys enjoy it! i have no idea when the next one will be up! Sorry...**

**enjoy and thanks to those that Review! **

**soooo....please Review!!!!!**

**~Rose**

**_____________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 12**

I left Rose at her room and continued to my own.

I couldn't sleep that night, I was thinking of Rose. Her name in Russian was Roza. A pretty name for a pretty girl.

Ugh. I had to stop this. I should---my phone rang, and I gladly answered it.

"Belikov," I said.

"Belikov, the Hathaway girl insists on seeing you right now. She says it's an emergency,but won't tell me what it is," the hall matron said.

I shot out of bed. "I'll be right there."

I hung up and got dressed. A few minutes later, I was down the stairs. I took one look at Rose. "Lissa."

She nodded.

Without another word, I turned and started down the stairs. We walked through the quad in silence.

Lissa's hall matron was surprised at our appearance, but said nothing.

"She's in the bathroom," Rose said. "She's to upset. Let me talk to her alone first."

I considered that. She knew the princess best. "Yes. Give them a minute."

She pushed open the door and went inside.

The hall matron turned to me. "What's going on?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Let Rose talk to her, then we'll know."

After a few minutes, I knocked on the door. "Rose?"

"Just a sec," she called.

"We're coming in," the matron said.

The hall matron and I walked into the bathroom as Lissa pulled a sweatshirt over her. There was blood on Lissa's face. I was at her side instantly.

"It's not mine. It…it's the rabbit…"

I looked at her, making sure she had no wounds. "What rabbit?"

She pointed to the trash can with shaking hands. "I cleaned it up. So Natalie wouldn't see."

Rose and I walked to the trash can and peered into it. All I could see was blood and paper towels soaked with blood. It smelled terrible.

I shifted so I looked Lissa in the eye. "Tell me what happened." I handed her some tissues.

"I came back about an hour ago. And it was there. Right there in the middle of the floor. Torn apart. It was like it had…exploded. I didn't want Natalie to find it, didn't want to scare her…so I—I cleaned it up. Then I just couldn't…couldn't go back…" She began to cry again, her shoulders shaking.

"No one should be able to get into those rooms!" the matron exclaimed. "How is this happening?"

"Do you know who did it?" I asked.

Lissa reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Rose and I bent over it to read: _I know what you are. You won't survive being here. I'll make sure of it. Leave now. It's the only way you might live through this._

The matron's shock disappeared. "I'm getting Ellen." The headmistress.

"Tell her we'll be at the clinic," I said. To Lissa, "You should lie down."

She didn't move. Rose linked her arm through Lissa's. "Come on, Liss. Let's get you out of here."

We walked slowly to the clinic. When we got there, one of the nurses offered to get a doctor. I declined. "She just needs to rest," I said.

Lissa had just stretched out on the bed when the headmistress and a couple others came in and started questioning her.

Rose threw herself between them and Lissa. "Leave her alone! Can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it? Let her get some sleep first!"

"Miss Hathaway, you're out of line as usual. I don't even know what you're doing here."

I asked if I could speak with her privately. She and I went to the hallway.

"Lissa really isn't well. You have to let her rest first," I said firmly.

"No! We need to know what happened!" she hissed.

We argued for a second more, then agreed with me.

Stiffly, she said to Lissa, "You may stay with her for a little while. We'll have janitors do further cleaning and investigation in the bathroom and your room, Miss Dragomir, and then discuss the situation in detail in the morning."

"Don't wake Natalie," Lissa whispered. "I don't want to scare her. I cleaned up everything in the room anyway."

The group left, leaving Lissa and Rose alone.

"Belikov, get to my office, now," Headmistress Kirova said.

For God's sake. Did she have to call _me_ to her office _everytime_ she wanted to vent her feelings?

"Well, what do you make of this?" she demanded when the door was shut.

"It wasn't Rose. I saw her at the reception and hen with Lissa in the garden. I walked her back to her room."

She nodded. "There are only a few people with keys to that room."

"But anyone could have taken them from someone else," I pointed out.

She let our a frustrated sigh. "I suppose we could set up round the clock surveilence on her room."

"No. Maybe...maybe, for a time, we should let these events happen. See if we can caught them in the act. If we set up a survey team, we risk never finding out who did this," I said.

She thought about it. "You're right, Belikov. You should go back and get to sleep."

I nodded and left the office.

I had no idea what that note meant, but I had a feeling Rose and Lissa did.

I felt a surge of sadness wash over me; even after training for so long together, Rose still didn't trust me enough to talk to me.

--

At training the next day, I gave Rose a curious look. Her face looked miserable. I gave her a curious glance but I didn't ask any questions. I was still kind of hurt that she thought she couldn't confide in me.

After training, she left without a word or smart ass comment.

I shook my head. Must be one of those teenage girl things.

I left the gym for the commons. As I was walking past a group of Moroi royals, I heard something that made me stop.

"Yes! She had sex with Ralf and Jesse _and_ let them drink her blood!" one of the girls exclaimed.

"Rose? She doesn't even like Ralf. Maybe Jesse, but not Ralf," another said.

A blonde girl snorted. "She's a dhampir girl. That's how most of them end up. Blood whores."

I resisted the urge to go yell at them. Now I knew what was bothering Rose so badly.

I was almost to the commons when Lissa came up to me.

"Princess. You best get to your dorm. It's almost time for curfew," I said.

She looked at me with pleading eyes. "I need to talk to Rose. Can you get her? Please?"

I thought about it. "Yes. Come on."

I left Lissa outside the dorm and went to Rose's room. I knocked.

She opened the door. Studying her face, I saw she'd been crying. I glanced away. I wanted to comfort her. Take her in my arms and tell her everything would be okay.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter if I am, remember?" she looked at me. "Is Lissa okay? This'll be hard on her."

I was surprised. She was worried about Lissa, not herself. I beckoned her to follow me. I lead her to the stairwell—one that usually stayed locked to students—and gestured her outside to where Lissa was.

"Five minutes," I said.

She stepped outside and I shut the door. I wanted to know what Lissa wanted to tell her, but I respected her privacy.

Five minutes later, I stuck my head outside. "You've got to get back inside, Rose, before someone finds you."

She shot a panicked look at Lissa. What had they been talking about? Lissa backed away saying, "I'll take care of everything this time, Rose. _Everything_."

Rose didn't look convinced. She can inside looking more worried than upset.

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	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys. **

**Usual: I own nothing!**

**I'm hardly getting any review from the last couple chapter, so I don't know what to think. **

**I'm going to take the lack of reviews as one of two things: **

**1) Lack of interest in my story**

**2) My writing has gone downhill and I need to stop.**

**Let me know whick of those is the answer for the limited review I've gotten lately!!!**

**Hope everyone's doing okay!!!!**

**~Rosemarie**

**___________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 13**

The effect of Ralf and Jesse's lies was terrible for Rose. She constantly looked like she would cry at any moment.

I watched as she walked around campus by herself, ignoring everyone and everything around her.

I wished there was something I could do to make it better.

I was madder than hell at those two boys for doing this to Rose. What had telling the school lies acomplished?

A few days later, Rose came to her before school practice looking worried. That had been her usual expression since talking to Lissa.

We started out with running, like always. I wanted to talk to her about the rumors, but I didn't want to upset her more. I wanted to tell her that I didn't believe anything, and I knew she'd never do what she was being accused of.

But I didn't.

When we finished with the running, I lead her through an offensive exercise where she could use any makeshift weapon to attack me.

She looked surprised that she managed to land a few blows. They made her stagger back, though.

Finally, I called a break.

We carried the equipment back to the supply room. While putting it away, I glanced at her, and did a double take.

"Your hands." I swore in Russian. She'd tried to get me to teach her it, but I wouldn't. "Where are your gloves?"

She looked down at her hands. The cold had turned the skin raw and chapped and in some parts her hands were actually bleeding. "Don't have any. Never needed them in Portland."

I swore again and gestured her to a chair while I got a first aid kit. Wiping the blood away with a wet towel, I said, "We'll get you some."

"This is only the start, isn't it?"

"Of what?"

"Me. Turning into Alberta. Her…and all the other female guardians. They're all leathery and stuff. Fighting and training and always being outdoors—they aren't pretty anymore." She paused. "This…this life. It destroys them. Their looks, I mean."

I hesitated. Looking up, I swept my eyes over her. "It won't happen to _you_. You're too..." Oh, no. She's too what??? Too gorgeous, pretty, beautiful, attractive, stunning, dazzling, elegant…? As none of those were appropriate to say to a student, I finished with, "It won't happen to you."

"It happened to my mom. She used to be beautiful. I guess she still is, sort of. But not the way she use to be. Haven't seen her in a while. She could look completely different for all I know." The last part was said bitterly.

"You don't like your mother," I observed.

"You noticed that, huh?"

"You barely know her," I pointed out.

"That's the point. She abandoned me. She left me to be raised by the Academy."

I finished cleaning her hands and found a jar of salve. I began rubbing it into her skin. I couldn't believe I was actually touching her. There was a tightening in my chest.

I tried to think of something to say that would distract myself from the feel of her hands.

"You say that…but what else should she have done? I know you want to be a guardian. I know how much it means to you. Do you think she feels any differently? Do you think she should have quit to raise you when you'd spend most of your life here anyway?"

"Are you saying I'm a hypocrite?" She obviously didn't like having her arguement thrown into her face.

"I'm saying maybe you shouldn't be so hard on her. She's a very respected dhampir woman. She's set you on the path to be the same."

"It wouldn't kill her to visit more," she muttered. "But I guess you're right. A little. It could have been worse, I suppose. I could have been raised with blood whores."

I winced internally. I looked up at her. "I was raised in a dhampir commune. They aren't as bad as you think."

"Oh. I didn't mean—" she started, embarrassed.

"It's all right." I looked back at her hands.

"So, did you, like, have family there? Grow up with them?"

I nodded. "My mother and two sisters. I didn't see them much after I went to school, but we still keep in touch. Mostly, the communities are about family. There's a lot of love there, no matter what stories you've heard."

She glanced down, but not before I saw her glare. She was mad the I'd had a happier life with my "disgraced" mother than she'd had with her respectable one.

"Yeah, but…isn't it weird? Aren't there a lot of Moroi men visiting to, you know?..."

"Sometimes." My tone was dangerous. This wasn't something I wanted to discuss with her.

"I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something bad…"

After a minute, I said, "Actually…you probably wouldn't think it's bad. You don't know your father, do you?"

She shook her head. "No. All I know is he must have had wicked cool hair."

I glanced up. "Yes. He must have." I looked down. Shit. I should not have said that. "I knew mine."

Her hand stiffened with surprise in mine. "Really? Most Moroi guys don't stay—I mean, some do, but you know, usually they just—"

"Well, he liked my mother," I said, interrupting her. "And he visited her a lot. He's my sisters' father too. But when he came…well, he didn't treat my mother very well. He did some horrible things."

"Like…" she hesitated. "Blood whore things?"

"Like beating her up kind of things," i said flatly.

I finished with the bandages, but held her hands in were small and warm.

"Oh God," she said. She tightened her hands in mine and I squeezed back. "That's horrible. And she…she just let it happen?"

"She did." The corner of my mouth turned up into a sad smile. "But I didn't."

She was suddenly smiling hugely. "Tell me, _tell me_ you beat the crap out of him."

My smile grew. "I did."

"Wow. You beat up your dad. I mean, that's really horrible…what happened. But, _wow_. You really are a god."

I blinked. I really was a _what?_ "What?"

"Uh, nothing." Changing the subject, "How old were you?"

I was still puzzling about her comment. What did she mean? "Thirteen."

"You beat up your dad when you were _thirteen_?"

"It wasn't that hard. I was stronger then he was, almost as tall. I couldn't let him keep doing that. He had to learn that being royal and Moroi doesn't mean you can do anything you want to other people—even blood whores."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right."

She seemed to think about something. "That's why you got so upset about Jesse, isn't it? He was another royal, trying to take advantage of a dhampir girl."

I looked away from her. "I got upset about that for a lot of reasons. After all, you were breaking the rules, and…" And it made me unbelievably jealous.

I looked back into her eyes. A sudden warmth flowed between us.

Her eyes darkened. "I know you heard what people are saying, that I—"

"I know it's not true."

"Yeah, but how do you—"

"Because I know you. I know your character. I know you're going to be a great guardian." And she would be. One of the best.

"I'm glad someone does. Everyone thinks I'm totally irresponsible."

"With the way you worry more about Lissa that yourself..." I shook my head. "No. You understand your responsibilities better than guardians twice your age. You'll do what you have to do to succeed."

"I don't know if I can do everything I have to do."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't want to cut my hair," she explained.

I looked at her in confusion. "You don't have to cut your hair. It's not required."

"All the guardian women do. they show off their tattoos."

I released her hands and leaned forward. If I'd been thinking straight, I never would have done what I did next.

I reached out and held a lock of her hair, twisting it around one finger. It was as soft as it looked. Smooth, beautiful.

My thoughts caught up with my actions and I let her hair go. I was surprised and a little embarrassed at what I'd done. Surprised because I'd let my guard down, and embarrassed because I did it.

"Don't cut it." It was too gorgeous to cut.

"But no one'll see my tattoos if I don't."

I moved toward the door. I had to get out of here before I did something stupid. Stupider. I couldn't help smiling as I left and said, "Wear it up."

_________________________________________________________________________

**Hit the green button! Okay, so it's not a green button, but it's a white button with green words on it. **

**SOOOO....Hit the white button with green words! It'll bring you good luck! **

**okay, not really, but it will make me happy! ;)**

**~Rosemarie**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry it's been so long!!!! I've been working on something else. ;D**

**THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!**

**don't own anything...please read and review...**

**Jus the usual.**

**~Rose**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 14**

As the days passed, it seemed Lissa was getting back into her old self. Her rise to popularity was gradual, but steady.

The royals were starting to leave Rose alone. But it was another story with the non royals. For them, Rose was a nonstop source of laughter.

But it seemed Rose was ignoring that. She always had a worried look on her face that had nothing to do with being taunted. I wondered if there was something behind Lissa's popularity. I wasn't saying Lissa couldn't become popular just by her charm. I was just wondering if it was something more.

That Sunday in church, I watched as Rose whispered to Lissa. I wished I were close enough so I could here Rose's concerns.

Before the service started, a burst of laughter made me look around. In front of Rose and Lissa, two boys were turned around, laughing at Rose. I ground my teeth together.

Rose looked away, but Lissa's face turned cold. She snapped something at them. they immediately fell all over themselves trying to apoligize to Rose. Rose was looking at Lissa like she was nuts. The two boys exhausted their apologys. But Lissa wasn't finished. She snapped at them again. They looked at her in fear before continuing their groveling.

Rose must have said she accepted their apologizes, because they backed off. Lissa still looked at them with disapproval.

The priest started the service, but i tuned it out.

How did Lissa do that? If I didn't know better, i'd say compulsion. But no one could use it on a Moroi. Maybe the two boys were just scared of Lissa. After all, she came from one of the most powerful royal families.

I turned my attention to Rose. She was looking bored for a while. She must have tuned inot the priest to hear something, because she scowled at what he was saying.

She suddenly went rigid. She turned to Lissa, but she didn't say anything. It looked like she just figured something important out.

But she didn't have a chance to tak to Lissa, because she was escorted back to her room when the service ended.

I stayed long ofter everyone else had left. It was peaceful in the church. It was a place I could really think.

"Something bothering you, Guardian Belikov?" a voice behind me asked.

I turned. The priest was looking at me. "Not really," I lied. In truth, a lot of things were bothering me. Rose, Lissa, the rumors about Rose...

He nodded. "If you want to talk, I'm here to listen..." He walked off to the front of the church, then to a side room.

I sighed and stood up.

I exited the church and headed toward the gym. Maybe working out would help.

Half an hour later, the door to the gym opened. Alberta walked in. That woman had a terrible habit of finding me when I didn't want to talk.

"Belikov, can you take and extra shift tonight?"

I nodded. "Yes. What time?"

"Third watch. You might be able to sleep before you have to go on," she said.

I nodded again.

"Belikov, is something bothering you?"

"No." What was with everyone asking me this? Was it that easy to see? If it was, I'd have to work a little harder at hiding it.

She studied me. "Maybe you need a vacation..."

"No. I don't need one, and I won't take one. I'm happier when I'm working," I said.

She sighed, but left it alone. She walked to the door and left.

I stopped hitting the practice dummy and sat down on the mat.

How did my life get so messed up? i use to know what I wanted to do. There was never any doubt in my head that I wanted to be a guardian.

But one person changed that.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! **

**Sorry this is so short. The next one will be super long. **

**My sister is coming home, so I might not get a story up for a while. We're going to bike in the National Park near our house. **

**Okay, enough on my life, please read and review. I own nothing!**

**_________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 15**

The next day was uneventful compared to the others since I met Rose.

Until someone put a lit match into a garbage can in the bathroom. The staff was busy trying to take care of it before it burned down the dorm. Headmistress Kirova was furious.

"These kids at this school! No respect for anything. Who was the last person to come out of their?" I was surprised she still had her voice. She yelled way too much.

"No one saw anything, Headmistress," I said calmly.

She sniffed. "Of course not." She paused. "How has Rose been acting lately?"

I was confused. "She's been okay…"

"You think she could have done this? Or had someone else do it?"

I was instantly irritated. "No. Rose doesn't have a hand in everything bad that goes on around here, Headmistress."

She frowned. "I guess not. Vary well, you are dismissed Guardian Belikov."

I nodded and left.  
Why did everyone always want to blame Rose for everything that went wrong? She didn't have anything to do with this…did she?

I suppressed a groan. Everything she did reflected on me.

I hoped she wasn't involved with this.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone! **

**I know, I know. I said I wouldn't update till about Saturday, but I have some time! You're not complaining, are you? Lol**

**I don't own anything…**

**So, go ahead and read. Then, you can totally click that button and review! Yeah!!! **

**_________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 16**

The next day, I was in the gym getting ready for my training with Rose. I glanced at the clock and did a double take.

She was almost fifteen minutes late.

I cursed in Russian. Would she never learn any responsibility?

I sighed. What was it about her? I asked myself for the hundredth time. She was wild, somewhat irresponsible, and…beautiful.

The complete opposite of myself.

The gym doors opened and she came in out of breath, but looking slightly more cheerful than I'd see her all week. Whatever had made her late had cheered her up a little.

I was immediately not mad at her anymore.

Damn it.

**

I was walking across the quad when Lissa caught up with me.

"Guardian Belikov," she greeted me, falling into step with me.

"Princess."

"Can I ask you a favor?" she asked.

"Of course." I paused so we could talk.

"Natalie's father is getting her off campus for a while, and i was wondering if you could talk to Headmistress Kirova and talk her into letting Rose go with us," she said.

"She won't let her. She's under house arrest."

"I know. But isn't there anything you can do? Talk to her? Please?" She gazed up at me with pleading eyes.

I looked down at her. "I'll see what I can do."

She smiled in delight. "Thank you so much, Guardian Belikov!"

She grabbed me in a hug and sped off toward the Moroi dorms.

I sighed. What was I suppose to do?

I changed my course to the headmistress's office.

She was staring at some paperwork with a frown.

"Guardian Belikov," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about Rose."

She nodded.

"Well, Victor Dashkov is taking his daughter off campus to go shopping in Missoula." She nodded. "I was wondering if Rose could be allowed to accompany them on that trip."

"I'm afraid that is out of the question," Ms. Kirova said.

An idea occurred to me. "What if it was used as a training exercise?"

"In what way?" she asked, suspicious.

"Well, there's a chance Rose will be the one assigned to Vasilisa after graduation. She could go along and 'guard' the princess."

"How has Rose's behavior been the last couple weeks?"

"Very good. She's starting to surpass all her peers," I answered.

"Let me think on it for a few days. I'll decide if she can be allowed to go," Headmistress Kirova said.

I turned to go.

"Be aware, Guardian Belikov, if she goes and she messes up, it's on you. Good day."

I left. Why the hell did she always put that kind of shit on me? What've Rose's actions got to do with me? I'm her mentor, not her parent.

I cringed. That's right.

I was her mentor, and I should remember that.

I walked over to the Moroi dorm and talked to Lissa. I told her I did my best, but not to get her hopes up.

She nodded.

Walking back to my room, Stan Alto came up to me.

"Belikov, you know you have to go with us to that mall, right?"

I gritted my teeth. I didn't particularly like Stan Alto. Not since that day he embarrassed Rose.

"I'm aware of it. I am Lissa's guardian." My voice was perfectly normal. It didn't display any of the anger I felt toward this man.

"Yeah, I guess you are. Did Lissa tell you who else is going?" he asked.

"She did mention a few others."

"Really? Well, he's the list…"

He went on to list several other guardians.

I finally had enough and excused myself, saying I had duty.

I walked to the far side of campus, forgetting I wasn't on for tonight. I found the guardian on watch and traded places with him.

He thanked me and left in a hurry.

So the rest of the night I walked the boarder of the Academy thinking about the one girl I couldn't have.

Why couldn't it be another guardian or a Moroi? Why a student?

Around nine a.m. Alberta relieved me from the watch.

"Belikov, you weren't on for tonight," she said.

"I couldn't sleep so I traded shifts with the other guardian," I answered.

She studied me. "Don't you get tired of doing multiple shifts? I know what happened with Ivan, but don't you think you're taking it a little far?"

I shrugged and walked off.

In my room, I fell onto the bed, but didn't do to sleep.

I lay on the bed thinking about Rose. Roza.

Only a couple hours till I'd see her.

_______________________________________________________________


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone! Here's Chapter 17 of your favorite book! Yay! Chapter 17. **

**Okey-dokey. I own nothing as usual. Wish I did, though. This is a great series. **

***Don't forget!!!! Two weeks until the first chapter is posted! Double yay for that!!***

**~Rose**

**_____________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 17**

A couple days later, Headmistress Kirova made her decision. Rose would be allowed to go. But only because of my training exercise idea.

When I saw her, I smiled. She had worn her hair up.

As we walked out to the van, I told her.

"Headmistress Kirova thinks you've done well since coming back," I said.

"Aside from starting a fight in Mr. Nagy's class?"

"She doesn't blame you for that. Not entirely. I convinced her you needed a break…and that you could use this as a training exercise."

"Training exercise?"

I gave her a brief explanation as we walked out to meet Prince Victor Dashkov and the other guardians.

It was a two hour trip to the mall in Missoula.

"Camille and Natalie don't have personal guardians yet," I told Rose. "They're both under the protection of their families' guardians. Since they are Academy students leaving campus, a school guardian accompanies them—Stan. I go because I'm Lissa's assigned guardian. Most girls her age wouldn't have a personal guardian yet, but circumstances make her unusual."

Rose sat in the back with one of Victor's guardians, Spiridon, and me.

She turned to me. "She's supposed to have two guardians. Princes and princesses always do."

Spiridon answered. "Don't worry, she'll have plenty when the time comes. Dimitri's already one of them. Odds are you'll be one too. And that's why you're here today."

"The training part," she said.

"Yup. You're going to be Dimitri's partner."

A moment of silence fell. Awkward silence fell, probably not noticeable to anyone but me and Rose. Our eyes met.

"Guarding partners," I said unnecessarily.

"Yup," Spiridon said again.

Obvious to the weirdness between Rose and me, he went on to explain some guardian stuff. Like how the guard that stayed with the Moroi was the near guard and the other guardian was the far guard.

"You'll probably always be the near guard," I told Rose. "You're female and the same age as the princess. You can stay close to her without attracting attention."

"And I can't ever take my eyes off her. Or you," she said.

Spiridon laughed and elbowed me. "You've got a star student there. Did you give her a stake?"

"No. She's not ready."

"I would be if _someone_ would show me how to use one," she argued.

"More to it than just using the stake. You've got to subdue them. And bring yourself to kill them."

"Why wouldn't I kill them?" she asked.

"Most Strigoi used to be Moroi who purposely turned. Sometimes they're Moroi or dhampirs turned by force. It doesn't matter. There's a strong chance you might know one of them. Could you kill someone you used to know?"

"I guess so. I'd have to, right? If it's them or Lissa…"

"You might still hesitate," I said. "And that hesitation could kill you. And her."

"Then how do you make sure you don't hesitate?"

"You have to keep telling yourself that they _aren't_ the same people you knew. They've become something dark and twisted. Something unnatural. You have to let go of attachments and do what's right. If they have any grain of their former selves left, they'll probably be grateful."

"Grateful for me killing them?" she asked, skeptically.

"If someone turned you into a Strigoi, what would you want?" I asked.

She didn't answer. I kept my eyes glued to her.

"What would you want if you knew you were going to be converted into a Strigoi against your will? If you knew you would lose all sense of your old morals and understanding of what's right and wrong? If you knew you'd live the rest of your life--your immortal life--killing innocent people? What would you want?"

The van had gone silent, but I was too fixed on Rose.

I'd never met anyone who understood all the life/death consequences like Rose did. She took being a guardian more seriously than anyone I knew. She understood that we might have to put our lives on hold, and that we might not be able to live the life we wanted, but we did it anyway. She knew as I did that our lives would never be easy.

"If I became Strigoi...I'd want someone to kill me." The look in her eyes told me she had the same flash of reality that I did.

"So would I," I said quietly.

"It reminds me of Mikhail hunting Sonya," Victor said, thoughtfully.

I didn't listen as he told Lissa and the others about what happened to Sonya Karp. That she had turned Strigoi by choice. That Mikhail Tanner, her lover, was hunting her to kill her.

When it got too depressing, Victor said, "Perhaps it is time to talk about something else. Today isn't a day to dwell on depressing topics."

Everyone, I think, felt relieved to get to the mall. Although it was only mid-November, the mall was decorated for Christmas.

Rose looked happy, but I could tell she was a little mad about not getting one of the communication devices the older guardians had. I told her if she could guard the old-fashioned way, she could handle anything.

Victor and Spiridon stayed with the girls while the rest of use fanned out, being careful not to look like pedophiles or rapists stalking the girls.

I watched as Lissa held up a low cut top in Macy's. Rose's expression turned longing, and then she met my eyes, turned to Lissa and shook her head. Lissa looked surprised, but shrugged and hung it back up. Lissa and Camille, the other girl that came along, tried on a nonstop string of clothes. Rose never broke and tried on anything. She did however get some thermal shirts and a hoodie. Lissa looked disappointed.

She and Rose whispered on the way to the dressing room. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it looked tense.

Lissa scowled, but brightened as she pulled a dress off the rack. She held it out to Rose.

It was black and strapless. Personally, I didn't see how it would stay on. It definitely wasn't going to be allowed by the dress code at St. Vladimir's.

Even though her face was saying she wanted it, badly, Rose shook her head and pulled away from the dress.

Lissa bought the dress anyway, even though Rose wouldn't try it on.

The afternoon continued, but I could hardly concentrate. The thought of Rose in that dress...

Outside the jewelry store was a stand of make up and such. I glanced at it and saw a thing of lip-gloss like Rose was always complaining she was running out of. She and Lissa hadn't bought any make-up at the mall, but I was sure Rose didn't get any of this lip-gloss since she last complained to me.

When their backs were turned to me and they were bent over a jewelry case, I bought some of it for Rose. I knew she'd be happy about it.

As we rode home in silence, Rose leaned back against the seat and yawned. Our arms were touching and the image of her dress popped up in my mind.

"So, I can't ever try on clothes again?" she asked quietly, knowing the girls had fallen asleep.

"When you aren't on duty, you can. You can do it during your time off."

"I don't want time off. I want to always take care of Lissa." She yawned again. She was always so concerned about Lissa. "Did you see that dress?"

"I saw the dress," I said.

"Did you like it?" she asked.

Oh, my God. I'd rather play Russian Roulette than talk about this right now in front of Prince Victor and the other guardian. I didn't answer.

"Am I going to endanger my reputation if I wear it to the dance?" she asked.

I whispered in her ear as quietly as I could, "You'll endanger the school."

She smiled and fell asleep.

Her head moved and she leaned against my shoulder. My breath caught in my throat. She was just too...perfect. I wanted to be somewhere with her that was private. I wanted to run my fingers through her dark hair. I wanted to kiss her lovely lips.

I swallowed and spread my jacket over her. She didn't twitch, but smiled in her sleep.

She sat up when the van stopped. I climbed out of the van and she followed, holding my coat. She handed it to me and went to Lissa's side.

"Back to prison," she sighed. She walked beside Lissa toward the commons. "Maybe if you fake a heart attack, I can make a break for it."

"Without your clothes?" She handed Rose a bag and she swung it around. "I can't wait to see the dress."

_Me either,_ I thought.

"Me either..." rose said. She and Lissa got to far ahead to head any more of their conversation.

I saw her laugh and she jumped onto one of the wooden benches, walking next to Lissa. She jumped down from one and onto another.

She was just gorgeous. That dark hair, the curves, the eyes. She was the prettiest girls I'd ever seen.

She hopped off the second bench onto the third.

"Hey," called Spiridon. "You're still on duty. No fun allowed up there."

"No fun here," Rose called back. "I swear--shit!"

She was almost to the end of the third bench, getting ready to jump down. The wood gave way beneath her as she tried to jump down. Her foot went through the wood, and her ankle got caught. Her body flew toward the ground, and when it hit, her ankle made a sickening cracking sound.

To me, it seemed to happen in slow motion. All I could think was, _Oh, my God! I have to help her._

She screamed in pain and I raced toward her.

The others were right on my heels. I bent down next to her. Lissa was hovering over her, anxious and frightened. She tried to pull Rose's leg free, but it was stuck. She gave up and let us do it.

We broke apart the bench and I lifted Rose into my arms. She was still moaning in pain, but it wasn't the screams it had been.

Lissa hurried along next to me as we went to the clinic. She ran to find the doctor and I waited, holding Rose.

"Oh, no. This is going to put me out of practice," she moaned. She appeared to still be unconscious, though, "I can't _not_ be at practice. We have to practice."

"Shh," I told her. "It's alright. You're fine, Roza."

Lissa appeared with the doctor. Now we had to wait.

____________________________________________________________________________

**Awww, Dimitri is so worried about his Roza.**

**You gotta love Dimtiri and Rose. **

**Don't forget to Review!!! please. PLEASE! REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry, sorry, sorry! i know. There's no explanation good enough for why i didn't write for a while! If you have a mypace, look me up! **.com/489320387

**Add me to ur friends! Yeah!**

**Okay. i own nothing! at all!!! **

**~Rose**

**Sorry again!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 18**

When she finally opened her eyes, I felt relief flood through me.

"Rose," I said.

She turned her head and met my eyes. I was sitting in the chair beside her bed, waiting.

"Hey," she said, her voice was rough.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"Weird. Kind of groggy."

"Dr. Olendzki gave you something for the pain.—you seemed pretty bad when we brought you in."

"I don't remember that…How Long have I been out?"

"A few hours."

"Must have been strong. Must still be strong." She moved her foot slightly. :I don't hurt at all."

I shook my head, baffled. "No. Because you weren't seriously injured."

She looked at me weird. "Are you sure? I remember…the way it bent. No. Something must be broken." She sat up to look at her ankle. "Or at least sprained."

I moved to stop her. "Be careful. Your ankle might feel fine, but you're probably still a little out of it."

She studied her ankle. "God. I got lucky. If I'd hurt it, it would have put me out of practice for a while."

I smiled ad sat back. I could still feel her in my arms. "I know. You kept telling me that while I was carrying you. You were very upset."

"You…you carried me here?"

Did she…did that make her happy? Or sad. I studied her for a second. She looked…a little miffed. Maybe, I thought, she was mad she wasn't awake. I mentally slapped myself. God. I had to stop this.

"After we broke the bench apart and freeded your foot."

Suddenly, she groaned. "I was taken down by a bench."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"I survived a whole day guarding Lissa, and you guys said I did a good job. Then, I get back here and meet my downfall in the form of a bench. Do you know how embarrassing that is? And all those guys saw, too."

I surpressed a smile. "It wasn't your fault. No one knew the bench was rotted. It looked fine."

"Still. I should have just stuck to the sidewalk like a normal person. The other novices are going to give me shit when I get back."

I wanted to smile. "Maybe presensts will cheer you up."

She sat up straighter. "Presents?"

I couldn't hold back a smile. She was happy, and it made me happy. I handed he rthe box from Prince Victor.

She looked surprise and read the note.

"That's nice of him," she said, opening the box. She saw what was inside it. "Whoa. Very nice."

She hel d up a necklace. It was glittery and had a diomond covered rose pendant. "This is pretty extreme for a get-well present."

"He actually bought it in honor of you doing so well on your first day as an official guardian. He saw you and Lissa looking at it."

"Wow. I don't think I did _that_ good of a job."

"I do."

She smiled and put the necklace away. "You did say 'presents,' right? Like more than one?"

I laughed. Handing her the one from me, I said, "This is from me."

She opened the paper bad abd pulled the lip gloss out. Her surprised look told me she thought I hadn't been listening to her when we ran.

But I had been. Every word.

"How'd you manage to buy this? I saw you the whole time at the mall."

"Guardian secrets."

"What's this for? My fisrt day?"

"No. Because I thought it would make you happy."

Caughting me off guard, she leaned forward and hugged me. "Thank you."

A moment later, I recovered, and hugged her back lightly.

"I'm glad you're better." I closed my eyes and inhaled the smell of her hair. "When I saw you fall…"

"You though, 'Wow, she's a loser.'"

"That's not what I thought."

I pulled back slightly. We locked eyes. Her brown eyes were so beautiful. So deep. Slowly, I reached out and traced her cheekbone, moving up the side of her face. She shivered at my touch. I wrapped a lock of her hair around my finger like I had that day in the gym. It was so soft.

I thought about closing the distance between us. To feel her soft lips on mine. I wanted so bad to kiss her. A soft knock sounded on the door and we leaned away from each other.

She talked to Roza but I wasn't listening.

When she gave her the okay to leave, I handed her her coat and shoes. She looked at me and blushed.

I watched her slip on her shoes. "You have a guardian angel."

"I don't believe in angels. I believe in what I can do for myself."

"Well then, you have and amazing body." Shit! That came out wrong. She looked up at me. "For healing, I mean. I heard abou the accident…."

"Everyone said I shouldn't have survived. Because of where isat and the way the car hit the tree. Lissa was really the only one in a secure spot. She and I walked away with only a few scratches."

"And you don't believe in angels or miracles."

"Nope. I—"

She broke off and got a dazed look.

"What's wrong?"

"Where's Lissa?" Was she here?"

"I don't know where she is. She wouldn't leave your side while I brought you in. she stayed right next to the bed, right until the doctor came in. you calmed down when she sat next to you."

She closed her eys.

"Rose?" No answer. "Rose? Roza?"

I went to get eh doctor. She couldn't get Roza out of it either.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked. I was trying not to sound frantic. What if she went into a coma or something horrible? Oh, no.

"I don't know. Keep saying her name and shake her a little."

Sometime later she finally snapped out of it. She looked horrified.

"I know where she is. Lissa. We have to help her."


	19. Chapter 1920

**HEY EVERYONE!!! **

**I'm going to put chapters 19 and 20 together. We all know what chapters these are!**

**don't own anything! like usual. You know what? i'm goin gto stop putting that. So for the last time, I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.**

**there. now you won't have to read it every time. **

**~Rose**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 19 / 20**

I didn't question Rose when she told me Lissa needed help. I went to get Alberta and we went to the chapel attic where Roza said she was.

Lissa was lying on the floor unconscious, surrounded by a puddle of blood. Quickly, I picked her up and we took her to the clinic.

This was terrible. What had happened to her?

There was a feeder on hand for her. All we had to do was wake her up. Which wasn't easy.

No one wanted Rose near her, but eventually, she was allowed to visit.

She went inside and I walked off to go start my shift.

That weekend was the dance. I could barely concentrate on my work, because I kept seeing that dress that Rose had gotten.

To try and forget about it, I took on extra shifts, freeing other guardians to chaperone the dance.

The night of the dance, I was walking back to the dorms with Alberta.

"I don't know, Belikov. Maybe we should lessen the patrols. After all, with the wards there's no need," Alberta said.

"But we should still be careful. I don't mind patrolling more often if you want to free up some other guardians," I offered.

She studied me. "Belikov, you work too much. Why don't you take a vacation?"

I was about to answer when we ran into Ashford…and Rose.

Alberta smiled at them. "Mr. Ashford, Miss Hathaway. I'm surprised you aren't already in the commons."

Mason started talking to her, but I wasn't listening.

Rose had to be the most beautiful girl in the world. The black dress was tight and showed a lot. I was surprised Alberta didn't call her out on the dress code.

I couldn't stop staring at her, and she noticed it.

She had curves, unlike the Moroi girls. She wore the necklace that Prince Victor had given her, and her hair was down. I wanted so bad to be alone with her. To run my hands through her hair. To kiss her.

But she was holding hands with Ashford. Jealousy rose in me. She pulled away from him, though.

Ashford and Alberta finished what they were saying and they continued on their way.

I said a hasty good night to Alberta and went to my room, slamming the door.

Oh, my God. Why did it have to be Rose Hathaway?

That dress. The image was burned in my eyes. Every time I tried to close my eyes I saw her. That dress…her body…her hair…

After a shower I tried to go to sleep. But I couldn't. I lay on the bed just wanting Rose.

Sometime later, someone was beating the crap out of my door. A moment later, I opened it to find Rose. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Rose?"

"Let me in. It's Lissa," she said.

I stepped aside and she came in. She surveyed the room. When she turned to me her eyes looked at me with a funny look.

I realized I was only wearing cotton pajama pants.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to get her to focus.

She didn't answer. She moved to close the distance between us.

"Rose!" I exclaimed, stepping back. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

I didn't know what to think. "Are you drunk?" I asked, holding out my hands in a gesture to get her away from me.

"Don't I wish," she said. She tried to move around me but paused. "I thought you wanted to—don't you think I'm pretty?"

Where the hell was this coming from? "Rose, I don't know what's going on, but you need to go back to your room."

She moved toward me again and I reached out to stop her. When our skin met, I felt a spark of electricity.

Why was I trying to get her to leave? Of course she should be here with me. I wanted her more than anything in the world.

I released her wrists and moved my hands up her arms, slowly moving over her skin.

Our eyes were locked on each other and I pulled her to me, pressing her against my body.

I moved one hand into her hair and tilted her head back. I could barely believe this was happening. I'd wanted her so bad for so long. Here she was with me, not with anyone else.

I brushed my lips against hers.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" she whispered.

I looked at her seriously. "I think you're beautiful."

"Beautiful?"

"You are so beautiful, it hurts me sometimes."

My lips moved to hers and kissed her gently, then with more hunger.

I couldn't stop myself. There was a reason I shouldn't do this…something important. But I couldn't remember.

My hands slid down her arms, to her hips, to the edge of her dress. I gathered the fabric and pushed it up. I kept pulling it up until I pulled it over her head and through it onto the floor.

"You…you got rid of that dress fast," she said between heavy breaths. "I thought you liked it."

"I do like it. I love it." My breathing was just as heavy as hers.

Then I took her to my bed.


	20. Chapter 21&22

**hello...**

**So here's the thing...I kinda combined chapter 21 & 22. it was kind of hard to break it into two chapters for Dimitri's pov. But look on the bright side. You know what happens faster. =D **

**so here's chapters 21 & 22. **

**~Rose**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 21 / 22**

Lying on top of the covers, we held each other and kept kissing…and kissing and kissing. I still couldn't wrap my mind around this. After wanting her for so long, this almost seemed surreal. My hands roamed over her, wanting more. I murmured her name in Russian over and over: _Roza, Roza_…

In the middle of this, there was a voice in the back of my head, urging me closer, to not let go.

I wanted so much to do more than we were doing, but she seemed nervous. Was it her first time? Hard to believe with all the boys that fawned over her like a goddess.

She shifted so she hovered over me, her hair hanging around us.

I turned my head slightly to inhale. It was like on the plane, in the med center, and during training…she smelled great.

When my head turned, she brushed her fingers over the tattoos on the back of my neck. I fought back a shiver.

"Did you really kill six Strigoi?" When I nodded, she said, "Wow."

I brought her neck down to kiss it. "Don't worry. You'll have a lot more than me someday."

"Do you feel guilty about it?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Killing them. You said in the van that it was the right thing to do, but it still bothers you. It's why you go to church, isn't it? I see you there, but you aren't really into the services."

I smiled. I was surprised and amused at her ability to read me so well. "How do you know these things? I'm not guilty exactly…just sad sometimes. All of them used to be human or dhampir or Moroi. It's a waste, that's all, but as I said before, it's something I have to do. Something we all have to do. Sometimes it bothers me, and the chapel is a good place to think about those kind of things. Sometimes I find peace there, but not often. I find more peace with you."

I rolled us over so I was above her. I kissed her heavily, again. Harder.

Her eyes became determine. She was ready, now.

Not wanting it to get broken, I unfastened the necklace she was wearing. I set it on the bedside table, and as soon as the chain left my hand, I felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice on me.

"What happened?" I asked confused. I looked down at her.

Sweet mother of Jesus. The situation was finally clear to me. I was on top of Rosemarie Hathaway.

And she was naked.

"I--I don't know," she answered. She looked like she was waking up from something. I frowned. Something had made us both act bizarrely. Could it have something to do with the necklace? The burning ache to have Rose was gone after we weren't touching it.

After several moments of thought, I picked the necklace up. Desire swept over me. I moved my hand to Rose's hip and saw her eyes flare with desire.

My lips moved toward hers

"Lissa," she whispered, squeezing her eye shut. "I have to tell you something about Lissa. But I can't...remember...I feel so strange...."

"I know." I rested my cheek on her forehead. "There's something...something here..." I pulled back from her. "This necklace. That's the one Prince victor gave you?"

She nodded. He was--if I wasn't mistaken--an earth user. He could have put a compulsion charm on this. I took a deep breath and pushed myself away from her.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed. "Come back..."

Oh, did I want too. So badly. But I moved further across the room and opened the window. Cold air blast into the room.

"What are you going to--?" She jumped up, realizing my plan. "No! Do you know how much that must have--?"

The necklace was out the window and Rose was in the middle of the room looking around in shock. She took in the bed, her naked, me so nearly...

"Lissa!" she gasped out.

In a rush of words, she told me what had happened. Why she had come up to my room.

Lissa and Christian Ozera had been in the chapel attic. Guardians had come up there, knocked Christian out and they had taken Lissa.

I was in motion before she had finished, ordering her to get dressed. I put on clothes and tossed Rose a sweatshirt with Cyrillic writing on it to wear over the dress.

I bolted downstairs, making no effort to slow for Rose. Maybe that was both to save Lissa and out of embarrassment.

Calls were made, orders shouted, and before long we were in the guardian's main office.

Rose yelled at them to hurry up, but no one except me would believe her story until someone got Christian Ozera out of the chapel attic and verified Lissa wasn't on campus.

Christian staggered in, supported by two guardians, and the doctor appeared to treat him.

"How many Strigoi were there?" one of the guardians asked Rose.

"How in the world did they get in?" another muttered.

Rose looked at them in confusion. "Wh--? There weren't any Strigoi."

"Who else would have taken her?" Headmistress Kirova asked. "You must have seen it wrong through the…vision."

"No. I'm positive. It was…they were…guardians."

"She's right," Christian mumbled, wincing as the doctor did something to the back of his head. "Guardians."

"That's impossible," Stan said.

"They weren't school guardians." Rose rubbed her forehead. Her tone grew irritated. "Will you guys get moving? She's getting further away!"

"You're saying a group of privately trained guardians came in a kidnapped her?" Headmistress Kirova asked, still not believing it.

"Yes," Rose replied through gritted teeth. "They…"

She broke off and her eyes became blank.

"What is she doing?" Headmistress Kirova asked, nervously.

"She gone to Lissa's head," I answered.

"To Lissa's head?" Stan asked skeptically.

"It's part of the bond. She can feel what the Princess feels," I said.

They were silent. She finally pulled back.

"They work for Victor Dashkov," she gasped out. "They're his."

"Prince Victor Dashkov?" Stan asked with a snort. Like there was any other fucking Victor Dashkov.

"Please," Rose moaned, holding her head in her hands. "Do something. They're getting further away. They're on…eighty-three. Headed south."

"Eighty-three already? How long ago did they leave? Why didn't you come sooner?"

Rose turned anxiously to me.

"A compulsion spell," I said slowly. "A compulsion spell put into a necklace he gave her. It make her attack me."

"No one can use that kind of compulsion," exclaimed Headmistress Kirova. "No one's done that in ages."

"Well someone did. By the time I'd restrained her and taken the necklace, a lot of time had passed," I said. No one questioned it. Guess it was good I had such a stellar reputation.

Finally we moved into action. No one wanted Roza to go, but I pointed out she was the only one that could lead us to Lissa. Three details of guardians headed out. Rose rode in the first one with me. I drove.

The only time we spoke was when Rose gave a report.

"They're still on eighty-three…but their turn is coming. They aren't speeding. They don't want to get pulled over."

I nodded, not looking at her. I most definitely _was _speeding.

I replayed tonight's events in my mind. I knew she was thinking about it too.

On the way to the car, I'd told her that there really had been a spell on the necklace. A lust one. She had asked for more information, but I just told her it was a spell an earth user could do, but it wasn't practiced anymore. I just happened to neglect to tell her I knew how they worked. For the lust spell to work, both people had to want each other. I really didn't want Rose to know how much I liked her. It was inappropriate and just wrong. I mean, my God. I was _seven years_ her senior.

"They're turning," she said suddenly. "I can't see the road name, but I'll know when we're close."

I grunted in acknowledgement. She slouched further into her seat.

But I couldn't stop myself thinking that she'd wanted me, too. Otherwise it wouldn't have worked. She cared for me.

"There," she said about twenty minutes later.

We drove in more salience. Dust swirled around us.

"They're turning again."

Farther and farther off the main routes they went, and we followed the whole time, led solely by Roza's instructions.

"They're outside a small cabin," she said. "They're taking her--"

She broke off and I looked over at her. Her eyes were blank. She'd slipped into Lissa's mind again.

"Rose!" I snapped. This was no time for her to go into Lissa's mind.

But she obviously couldn't pull out of it. So we drove in silence.

Until her scream filled the SUV.

My grip on the wheel jerked in surprise. I gave her an alarmed look and started to pull over.

"No, no! Keep going! We have to get there!" Her voice was frantic. Whatever they were doing to her best friend, it was terrible.

From behind her, Alberta reached forward and rested her hand on Rose's shoulder. "Rose, what happened?"

"They're torturing her...with air. This guy...Kenneth...he's making it press against her...into her head. The pressure's insane. It feels like my--her--skull's gonna explode." She started sobbing.

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and sped up.

Rose stayed with us, but she kept seeing what was happening. She related it to us. The guy, Kenneth, was using his element to abuse Lissa into doing something. She told us how Lissa healed Victor and he changed from fragile to young and youthful. I spat a string of swear words in Russian.

When we were a quarter a mile from the cabin, Alberta made a call on her phone and we pulled over.

All of us guardians--there was more than a dozen--got out and started to plan strategy. When we were ready, Rose started to get out of the car.

"No, Roza. You stay here," I said gently.

"The hell with that. I have to go help her."

I cupped her chin with my hand. She was so committed. She was going to make a great guardian. "You have helped her. Your job is done. You did it well. But this isn't any place for you. She and I both need you to stay safe."

She swallowed back her protests and nodded. I nodded back and joined the others. We slipped off into the woods.

I looked back to see her kick back the seat and lay down. Good. She was going to listen to me.

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**Poor Dimitri, he cares so much about his Roza...even if he doesn't show it. **

**Sooo...the next chapter follows Dimitri and the Badass Team. hee hee. That's what Rose calls them.**


	21. Chapter 23

**Hey!!! **

**Here's chapter 23! **

**~Rose**

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**Chapter 23**

We crept through he woods toward the cabin. The plan was the we would bust down the door and get in. A couple guardians would secure the perimeter to make sure no one escaped. Alberta was to grab the princess and the rest of us were to capture Dashkov and any others there.

We paused in the woods, behind trees, beside the cabin. I nodded at Alberta and we rushed forward I kicked the door in and we rushed in. We'd caught them by surprise. Things got violent when the guardians pulled guns on us. Wrong move.

We were ready for them. A couple of Victor's guardians got killed.

"Belikov!" Alberta shouted. "She's not here,"

"Go find her!" I shouted back. She nodded and took off out the door. I heard the baying of wolves in the distance. Then gun shots. Then nothing. didn't take time to worry about who was shot.

When all of the guardians and Victor had been captured and for safety reasons, knocked out, three guardians left to pull the SUVs closer.

I was glad Rose had stayed out of this.

A couple minutes later, we had them loaded into the SUVs. Lissa came out of the forest. I couldn't tell if she was supporting Christian, or if Christian was supporting Lissa. But I didn't worry about that for too lang. Alberta came out of the woods, next, carrying Rose. I rushed forward to lift her out of Alberta's arms.

"What happened?" I asked.

Most of the other guardians gathered around. "Well, I found Lissa. She was surrounded by psi-hounds. Rose was trying to take them down. So I shot them all. Then I noticed Mr. Ozera unconscious. Lissa reached out to him and when nothing happened, Rose let her drink from her. Then the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Lissa touched Christian and healed all the marks from the hounds." She finished in a disbelieving tone. Everyone turned to Lissa. But she and Christian were sitting in one of the SUVs asleep. I gently set Rose in the passenger seat of the SUV.

"We should discuss this later," I said. Everyone climbed in and we headed back to the Academy. The drive back seemed to take longer. Maybe it was because I was in a hurry to get Rose help at the Clinic. The only thing that appeared wrong with her was blood-loss, but I wanted to make sure, anyway.

***

When we got to the Academy, I carried Rose to the clinic and left. I didn't stay around to see if she would be okay. I knew she would be.

She was in for two days, from what I heard. I didn't visit her. I couldn't. I wanted to make her think I didn't care. This could _not_ continue between us.

I stayed away from her during practice. But four days after Lissa's kidnapping, she came back to get her gym bag. She froze when she saw me. I started to walk past her and stopped. I was ignoring her, and she technically didn't do anything wrong.

"Rose..." I began after an uncomfortable moment. "You need to report what happened. With us."

"I can't do that. They'll fire you. Or worse," she said. She cared about me? She didn't want me fired?

"They should fire me. What I did was wrong." But could I manage without seeing her face everyday?

"You couldn't help it. It was the spell..." she tried to argue.

"It doesn't matter. It was wrong. And stupid."

She bit her lip. Rose looked like she might cry. "Look, it's not a big deal."

_Why are you doing this to her?_ I asked myself. She didn't deserve this.

"It _is_ a big deal! I took advantage of you."

"No, you didn't," she argued.

I tried a different tactic.

"Rose, I'm seven years older than you. In ten years, that won't mean so much, but for now, it's huge. I'm an adult. You're a child," I said. I hated myself just then. Absolutely loathed myself.

She flinched like my words had hit her. I wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her. Tell her I didn't mean any of it.

"You didn't seem to think I was a child when you were all over me," she shot back. Now it was my turn to flinch.

"Just because your body...well, that doesn't make you an adult. We're in two very different places. I've been out in the world. I've been on my own. I've killed, Rose--_people,_ not animals. And you...you're just starting out. Your life is about homework and clothes and dances."

"That's all you think I care about?" she asked angrily.

"No, of course not. Not entirely. But it's all part of your world. You're still growing up and figuring out who you are and what's important. You need to keep doing that. You need to be with boys your own age."

That hurt, saying that. The thought of her with anyone else. Ashford and her holding hands popped up my mind.

"Even if you choose not to tell, you need to understand that _it was a mistake_. And it isn't ever going to happen again," I said.

"Because you're too old for me? Because it isn't responsible?" she spit out her words at me. She was mad.

A thought hit me. One that I was sure would get the point across. I kept my face perfectly blank. "No. Because I'm just not interested in you in that way." Wow. That had to be the biggest lie I'd ever told.

She stared at me. Her face betrayed nothing, though.

"It only happened because of the spell. Do you understand?" I tried again.

She shrugged. "Yeah. Understood."

She walked out and I stood in the middle of the gym, shocked.

She had accepted that too well.

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**Yeah, i'll bet everyone was surprised not to see a huge paragraph at the top of the page. I decided to switch it up! **

**Here's the paragraph at the bottom. **

**So, I don't know when I'm going to post the next chapter. **

**I'm going to set up a blog. soon. I'm not sure when. It's going to mostly be about what books I've read that i think are great and that kind of thing. I'll post the URL when i get it set up. **

**But yeah. So...click that awesomely cool button for reviews and a magical fairy will pop up and give you three wishes. **

**Okay, if you click it and that actually happens, let me know. **

**i'm out. talk to you guys later. **

**~Rose**


	22. Chapter 24

**Hey everyone!**

**Oh, no! The last chapter! **

**So I just wanted to say thanks for reading. All the reviews were great. Thanks for the support and the love! *hugs to everyone***

**I probably couldn't have done it without you guys! If I was having a bad day, I'd check my mail and read all the reviews and I'd be happy! **

**I love you all and here's the last chapter. Checkout the blog! **.

**~Rose**

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**Chapter 24**

The next day before school started, Alberta caught up with me after my patrol.

"Belikov, I need you to run these papers over to Nagy's classroom," she said. "I'd do it myself but I have a meeting with the headmistress."

I nodded and took the folder of papers from her. "Right. I was heading that way anyways."

She called a quick goodbye and turned to walk swiftly away.

I changed my course and headed toward the Slavic Arts classroom.

Even before I entered, something felt wrong. I pulled my stake out of my belt and peered around the door. The room was dark, but I saw a body on the ground near the front. I approached quickly, keeping alert.

It was Nagy. His throat was gone, but there was hardly any blood on the ground.

Strigoi. Someone had turned Strigoi.

I pulled out my phone and called Alberta. She answered.

"What Belikov?" she sounded annoyed.  
"Nagy's dead," I said. "Some one killed him."

She said something off the phone presumably to Headmistress Kirova. "We'll be right there."

The line went dead.

Only one person had a reason to do this. Natalie Dashkov. She'd do anything for her father.

I took off at a dead sprint toward the holding cell Victor was in.

The guards that had been watching him were on the ground, unconscious, but not dead.

I was right. I appeared in time to see Natalie throw...oh, my God. She through Rose against the wall. She fell to a crumpled head.

I ran down the hall. I distracted Natalie enough that she spun around, forgetting about Rose.

We circled each other, waiting for a moment to attack. She had super strength, but she didn't know how to use it. I knew how to use what I had. After both giving and receiving some nasty hits, I made my move. My stake flashed forward into her heart. She screamed and fell to the floor, and after a few moment, she stopped moving.

The next second, I was hovering over Rose. I slipped my arms under her body and lifted her.

"Hey, Comrade," she murmured. She sounded sleepy. "You were right about Strigoi."

Her eyelids drooped. "Rose. Roza. Open your eyes." My voice sounded frantic and strained. "Don't go to sleep on me. Not yet."

I was running toward the clinic. Oh, God. She couldn't die.

She squinted up at me. "Was he right?"

"Who?"

"Victor...he said it couldn't have worked. The necklace."

She drifted off and I bounced her to wake her up. She couldn't go into unconsciousness yet.

"What do you mean?"

"The spell. Victor said you had to want me...to care about me...for it to work." I didn't say anything. I never wanted her to know this. She tried to grip my shirt, but she was too weak. "Did you? Did you want me?"

My voice was filled with emotion. "Yes, Roza. I did want you. I still do. I wish...we could be together."

"Then why did you lie to me?"

We reached the clinic and I yanked the door open. As soon as we were in I yelled for help.

"Why did you lie?" she murmured again.

People were getting closer. I looked down at her. I loved her so much. She deserved the truth.

"Because we can't be together."

"Because of the age thing, right? Because you're my mentor?"

I gently wiped a tear away from her cheek. "That's part of it. But also...well, you an I will both be Lissa's guardians someday. I need to throw my body between them and her."

"I know that. Of course that's what you have to do."

She was fading again.

"No. If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you."

The medical team arrived and took her out of my arms.

I hoped we weren't too late.

***

Roza ended up staying in the clinic for a couple days. Of course, it would have been longer if it wasn't for Lissa and her powers. Everyone was still baffled that there was another element. Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and...Spirit.

Victor Dashkov had been found and recaptured before he was able to escape the Academy. The school was abuzz with the kidnapping.

She recovered fully. No one suspected anything between us. I was a mentor, Rose was my student. As far as anyone was concerned, that was as far as our relationship went. Only we knew. Sometimes our eyes would meet and I'd think about it, but for the most part I tried to stay away from her.

Like I told Roza. I couldn't afford to love her. I needed to protect Lissa. And she did too. .

Who knew? Maybe one day we'd come up with a solution to our problem and we could be together.

Until then, I just look forward to practice.

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**Check out the blog. **

**.**


	23. Author Note

**Hey!**

**So, I finished the whole Vampire Academy book in Dimitri's pov. A lot of you were asking if i'd be doing Frostbite. And my answer is...YES! **

**I'd be glad to do it! It may not be posted as fast, because school is starting (blah to Chemistry) but I'll do it!**

**I'm really excited, too. **

**Thanks for your support! **

**~Rose**


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